Pride and Perseverance
by MairiNathaira
Summary: After Kristallnacht, Scorpius, a young German Jew, is sent to England as part of the Kindertransport. There he stays with the Potters. AU and SLASH WARNING. ASP/SM and hints of TL/JP2 and HP/DM.


**Title**: Pride and Perseverance

**Author**: Mairi Nathaira & xxthecatsmeowxx

**Rating**: PG-13

**Category**: AU, First Time, Historical Fiction, Drama, Romance, Humour

**Notes**: Written for AS/S Through the Ages Fest at "the_ass_fest" LJ comm. Many thanks to my partner for writing this with me. Thanks to CR for betaing this monster.

**Summary**: After Kristallnacht, Scorpius, a young German Jew, is sent to England as part of the Kindertransport. There he stays with the Potters during the duration of one of the devastating moments in history: World War II and the Holocaust. A story in four parts.

**Pairing**: ASP/SM with mentions of JP2/TL and HP/DM

**Warnings**: Slash

**Dedications**: None

**Disclaimer**: All places mentioned in the story are real for the most part, and all characters here are purely fictional. Any resemblance to real people is purely coincidental. Harry Potter belongs to Warner Brothers and the wonderful JK Rowling. I do not own them, despite the fact I wish I could own SS, RL, and SB. The only thing that belongs to me is the story itself.

**Feedback**: All comments and criticisms are welcomed there. If it's flame then don't bother for I will put them in my trashcan or blog about it and laugh at you.

* * *

**Prologue**  
_March 1945_

The silence of the night aided him as he crept quietly down the vast and elaborate staircase, trying not to wake up the few people who lived in the manor. He tightened his hold on his small pack, filled with a few clothes, some food he smuggled from the maids, and all the money he had in the world, which wasn't a lot.

Scorpius Malfoy winced to himself as the staircase let out a loud creak. He held his breath and stood still as he listened for any other sounds. When none came, he continued his descent.

The seconds seemed to drag as he treaded carefully onwards. His heart pounded heavily, worrying that someone would wake and he'd get caught. He didn't want to explain what he was doing, why he was sneaking out late at night. Lord Potter might have understood his wanting to enlist, but he knew Albus would be furious, and he doubted he could withstand Lily's sad face asking him why he was leaving them. But he had to go. He had to fight for others like himself and help end the war that had cast a dark shadow upon his life. He couldn't just sit and wait.

Scorpius finally made it off the staircase and to the front door. He took a deep breath out of anxiousness as his hand touched the handle and slowly began opening it. He pulled it wider and wider and prayed silently that it wouldn't squeak or groan. When it was wide enough, he thanked God for his success and quietly walked out, closing the door just as sluggishly as before behind him.

He walked out of the entrance way and made his way down the path and past the front gate. Now outside, he looked around the dark English moors. Spring was around the corner, so he knew that soon the moors would be green with life. He looked behind at the manor and stared at it one last time -- his home in the past six years. A minute or two passed, and he faced forward and started to head down the path that were illuminated by the moon.

About a couple hundred metres away, he suddenly stopped as he saw a shadow appearing from behind some bushes. He tried to dismiss the person, thinking of him as some wanderer, but he froze as he saw moonlight reflecting against the familiar emerald eyes. He stared at them, and instead of seeing its usual warmth, he saw coldness mixed with hurt and anger. In a strangled voice he said, "Al."

"What are you doing?" Albus asked, even though it was clear that he knew.

"I--" Scorpius began, but was quickly interrupted.

"You can't go!" Albus yelled. "I won't let you!"

Scorpius' mood then switched from nervousness to anger. "What gives you the right to tell me what I can and cannot do? I want to make a difference. I don't want to sit around and wait for everything to end. I won't do it!"

"After everything, you just want to up and leave?" Albus asked, his emerald eyes flaring with anger.

Scorpius bit back a nasty retort that threatened to escape from his lips. He tried to placate Albus. "Al, I'll come back. I prom--"

"Don't give me that! This is a war! There's a high chance you won't come back!"

"Al, please, I have to do this!" Scorpius tried to step around him, but to no avail. It was obvious that Albus was not giving up yet. Especially when he felt a strong pair of arms wrapping around him.

"Don't go, Scor. Please, don't go." Scorpius closed his eyes as he sagged nearly with defeat in those arms, with the warm voice whispering into his ears. The same voice that held a desperate edge to it.

"Al . . . I . . . " He tried to speak, but failed.

"Please, don't leave," Albus continued to whisper as Scorpius fought back tears.

_Stupid Al_, he thought miserably. _Why did Al have to make things so difficult? Why couldn't he just let him go and do what he had to do? It would be so much easier if things had been different between them. If they hadn't become so close, he could just leave. But he knew that despite how hard it was, he wouldn't have traded any of their memories together_.

As he tried to fight his sense of duty and his desired wants, his mind drifted down his life's memory lanes of the last few years. Already six years passed since he came to this country, a country that somehow became home to him.

Closing his eyes around the unshed tears, he wrapped his arms around Albus' slim body and buried his face into Albus' hard and strong shoulders as he allowed the memories to rush into him.

* * *

**Part I**  
_December 1938_

It was mid-December, not even a week before Chanukah. Scorpius would normally be with his parents at this time, just like any other eleven-year-old boy would be. But here he was, in the back of some chauffeur's automobile, on his way to some stranger's house, where he was supposed to live until his mother and father came to the country and got him. He thought it was stupid. Why did he have to leave and why did he have to go alone? It wasn't fair. He didn't want to be with some other family; he wanted to be with his own.

"Sind Sie gute Rückseite dort?" the driver asked. _Are you good back there_?

"I can speak English," he replied with force.

The driver let out a disappointed sigh. "Keine Notwendigkeit, sich zu zwingen," he insisted. _ No necessity to force yourself_.

"I neet to get uset to it anyvay."

Scorpius was glad when the man let it be. He didn't want to talk. Who would anyway? He had been travelling non-stop since he boarded and left the train station. He couldn't remember how many days ago it was, but it seemed like forever and it had been terrible. The train had been packed to the absolute fullest capacity. It had been a mad house; one full of emotional children who were scared and depressed. And the boat ride later wasn't much better either. The car ride on the other hand was a godsend. The hum of the engine was like a sweet, long sought after lullaby. No cries of other children, no terrified screams, and no angry yelling. _Perfect_, he thought to himself as he closed his eyes and leaned his head against the car door.

As the car drove along the dirt road, he watched as the English countryside passed by him. He'd always wanted to come here. As the spoiled darling of his family, Scorpius had been given the opportunity to learn the unfamiliar English language at the tender age of six. He had hoped to learn to be fluent by the time he was old enough to go study at Oxford or Cambridge. Ever since he ran across some poetry by prominent poets like Yeats, Wordsworth, and Coleridge in his father's library, he dreamt of going to England to study English literature. But now his dreams of attending the most prestigious universities in the English speaking world plummeted to hell just as his own life.

He'd give anything to be with his parents right now. He couldn't understand it. Last month, when that horrific event, the Kristallnacht occurred, he knew some unexplainable changes had come into his life. He knew that his family, as well as the others in their affluent neighbourhood, were finally given that slap in the face that perhaps things were no longer safe in their country. The last few years proved to be difficult for people like him, but the incident last month finally proved everyone fears. Jews were no longer safe in Germany.

A couple of weeks ago, Scorpius saw the hushed urgency on his parents faces. He knew they were trying to get a visa that would allow them to escape Nazi Germany. What he didn't expect was to be sent ahead of them. Alone. That idea never came to him, but now here he was alone in the car, and it was all thanks to the Kindertransport organisation. A group of volunteers in England and Germany had arranged for German Jews children a safe passage to England, where they would be placed in foster homes or in child care services. Scorpius just happened to be one of the many children selected. He knew he should feel lucky, but he didn't.

"Here ve are," said the man in a heavy accent. "Wellingborough. That house on the hill? That is where you stay."

Scorpius eyed the gigantic house on the hill. He almost retorted at the driver that it wasn't a house but a mansion, but he stayed silent as he studied the Victorian architecture of the place. It was an old house, and he could see it. At first glance, he felt a shiver go down his spine at the unfriendly looking place, but as he looked at it closer, he sensed something gentle about the place, despite its sheer size and its formidable appearance.

It wasn't long until the car went through the gate that guarded the mansion and drove up the vast driveway. Scorpius saw a small gathering in front of the entrance. He saw two maids, a butler, a cook, and a gardener standing off to the side. Closer to the front, he saw a thin man with the most unruly hair in the world, dressed in an expensive looking suit, three boys -- two older ones and one about his age -- dressed in nice clothes, and a lone girl dressed just as nicely as the men.

They all had a friendly look about them, despite their rich appearance. Scorpius already decided he hated them on the spot.

The car soon came to a halt and the chauffeur came around to his door and opened it for him. "Here ve are, young sir," he said as Scorpius stepped out. The man then turned to the people in front of the mansion and began announcing him. "May I introduce young Scorpius Malfoy."

"Thank you, Richard," the man with the horrendous hair spoke as he walked forward. "Please take the young gentleman's bags up to his room. Ettie and Loretta will assist you and show you the way." The driver nodded and began doing as instructed; the two maids moving to help him. The lord of the house then turned to Scorpius and offered a warm smile that made him dislike him more. Then in German, he said, "Welcome, Scorpius. I am Lord Harry Potter, Marquess of Northamptonshire."

"Hello," Scorpius replied stubbornly.

Lord Potter merely chuckled before the young girl, about half Scorpius' age, scurried behind the man's leg and peeked from behind it at him. Her father patted her on the head and looked back to Scorpius. "This is my daughter, Lily. And he," he gestured to the youngest boy, "is my second eldest, Albus. And the two older boys are my eldest son, James, and Teddy, my godson and child of a deceased friend of mine. I hope you will all come to get along and make yourself feel at home."

"Humph," he sounded. Like he could ever feel at home in some stranger's home. The only place that could feel like home was with his own family and not someone else's.

The man let out a sigh and signalled for the girl to go stand by her brothers before kneeling in front of Scorpius and putting a hand on his shoulder. "I know this must be difficult. I lost my parents a long time ago and was forced to live with my uncle and his family. And though they may have been related to me, they may have well been strangers. It was scary and confusing -- just as it must be for you. But I will do my best to make this as comfortable of a place to live for you as I can until you are able to return to your parents. All right?"

Unexpectedly, tears suddenly came into his eyes, and Scorpius quickly ducked his head in a feeble effort to hide his weakness.

Was it from exhaustion? Was it from the stress of being separated from his parents? Was it from coming to a foster family more affluent than him? Or was it from the kindness of the lord who spoke in his native tongue to make him feel at ease? Scorpius wasn't sure what it was, but he forced his tears to stay in his eyes as he said softly, "Ja. Danke schön."

He looked up to see Lord Potter giving him a gentle smile. "Come. I know you're probably tired from the journey. My butler, Clyde, will show you to your room. In about an hour, we will have high tea. I'll have one of my boys send for you."

Scorpius nodded, and he walked past the others without making any eye contacts. Following Clyde, Scorpius took in the elaborate but homely décor of the inside. His footsteps echoed on the dark mahogany floors where there were oriental-designed carpets here and there. He walked past many portraits of Impressionist paintings reminiscent of Monet and Van Gogh. He easily recognised those style since his mother was a big art aficionado. Meanwhile, he caught pretty urns, vases, and even marbled statues of people or other inanimate objects. When he climbed up what looked like the grandest staircase in the world, Scorpius felt dizzy and wondered just how rich was this Lord Potter?

Clyde finally led him into a hallway (Scorpius knew it would take a while to navigate through this labyrinth) where he assumed was the bed chambers. Walking into what was to be his room, he should have figured that the rooms would be just as affluent the rest of the place was. He saw his stuff already in his room, and he looked closely at his "home" for the next month or so. In the middle of the room, there stood a four-poster bed, its sheets, blanket, and curtains in the deepest shade of evergreen, trimmed with gold and silver threads. There were two night tables on both sides of the bed, where one held a water pitcher and a basin with a towel. There was a desk off to the side of the corner, along with a bookcase full of books that were in German and English. There were two windows in his room, both connected to a window seats that had velvet cushions, and finally there was even a fireplace, which looked as if it was recently lit since his room felt nice and cosy.

"Please rest and someone will come for you later," Clyde said, interrupting Scorpius' visual exploration of the room. "I'll take my leave now."

Scorpius nodded slowly. He only understood "please", "take", and "someone". But when he saw Clyde leaving, he knew just what the man meant. With a sigh, Scorpius, still in his jacket and all, sat on the soft bed, lay on his back, and went to sleep without changing anything.

* * *

Scorpius heard a knock on his door and quickly bolted up. When his eyes opened, he wondered for a few seconds where he was before memories of the last few days came to him. His lips formed a pout before his thoughts returned to the present by a voice behind the door.

"Scorpius?" a young, male voice asked.

He got up from the comfortable bed reluctantly and walked to the door. When he opened it, Scorpius saw the little boy from earlier. Albus he believed his name was. He looked much like Lord Potter, though his hair had a barely noticeable touch of red, and he didn't have glasses blocking his extremely green eyes.

"H-hello," Scorpius managed to say.

"I am Albus," he greeted. "I am here to take you to tea. Ready?"

Scorpius nodded, able to understand the gist of what he said, and followed him down the hallway, closing the bedroom door behind him. His gaze focused on the ground in front of him as his feet kept in step with the boy's. He wondered to himself, as they walked, how he was supposed to ever feel truly comfortable at this place. He could barely speak or understand English, even with all the teachings, and he didn't expect he would improve much by the time he left. But maybe it didn't really matter. It shouldn't take his parents too long to come and get him, so did it really matter if he could keep conversation with any of them?

He was too lost in his own thoughts to notice Albus coming to a stop and turning to him. "Is something wrong?" he asked and Scorpius was brought back to reality.

"No," he replied, a bit disappointed at the interruption of the silence. "I am goot."

"You sure?"

Scorpius nodded, eager to get moving again. And to his relief, Albus accepted the response and they continued making their way down the hall. He didn't miss the occasional glances from the other boy in his direction. The looks made him feel slightly uncomfortable, but it was soon over when they reached the bottom of the staircase.

"Good evening," a voice spoke and Scorpius looked to see a light-brown haired boy -- Teddy was it? -- who was standing next to the eldest Potter son, James.

The greeting made Albus smile brightly. "Hello, Teddy," he replied. "James," he nodded to his brother. "Shouldn't you two be in the dining room?"

"We will be in there in a bit," James answered. "We were having a short discussion . . . about school matters."

"All right," he said and turned to Scorpius. "Come along. I will take you to the dining room."

Scorpius briefly studied the two boys -- no, they were men -- in front of him. Teddy reminded him of one of his friends back home, a gentle, studious sort. James on the other hand seemed to be the energetic chap, judging by the way his deep brown eyes sparkled with mischief.

But before he could discern anything more about them, Albus picked up the pace, and soon they were both in the dining hall. If the rest of the house was fancy as Scorpius had seen earlier, then the dining hall was perhaps the most majestic place he found himself in. He took in the golden chandeliers, the ornate wall decorations, and the huge table laden with sandwiches, biscuits, and teas.

The magnificence of this place made him freeze. He realised that he hadn't changed out of his travelling clothes and felt embarrassed by his appearance. Then again, the Nazis didn't really let him pack much of his nicer clothes, so it wouldn't have really mattered. He remembered that when his parents found out he was selected for the Kindertransport, they were given a list on what he was allowed to bring with him. Despite that, though, he still could have freshened up and even taken his jacket off.

"Are you cold?" asked Lord Potter in German, entering the dining hall.

"N-nein," Scorpius blushed at the question. "I'm just comfortable like this."

"Do have a seat. Anywhere."

Instead of sitting, he waited until the lord of the house took his seat first along with the other occupants. Then he finally sat down in a spot between Lord Potter and Albus with Teddy across from him. James sat next to Teddy, and Lily sat next to Albus.

As he slowly began to sip at his warm tea in front of him, Scorpius anticipated tea to be a silent one. His expectations failed him as he saw that the Potters were vocal and loud -- quite the opposite from his family.

Teddy and Harry talked to each other about something Scorpius couldn't catch. James teased Lily, and Lily, not letting her big brother win over her, teased back, the two bantering back and forth together.

Albus at the moment wasn't saying anything, but Scorpius figured that he'd enter the discussion with his siblings in a minute or so.

Again, Scorpius' theories were thrown in his face when Albus turned to him and said slowly, "Sorry. We're kind of loud at times."

Scorpius frowned as he tried to separate the words together and translate them in his head so he could understand. "It iz fine."

"Do you like Mickey Mouse?"

Something inside of Scorpius made him smile a little as that question made him recall his favourite film shorts on that eccentric mouse from United States. "Yes. I like Mickey Maus."

He watched the way Albus' green eyes twinkled. "I loved him in _Steamboat Willie_. Have you seen that?"

"Ja -- Yes. I did."

He saw the quick glance Albus threw at his father, but then Albus said, "Our local theatre will be showing that and other Mickey Mouse shorts. Would you like to come with me?"

That was too long for Scorpius to understand. "I sorry. I . . . Ich verstehe nicht." _I do not understand_. Scorpius forgot the English for that. Luckily, Lord Potter became his interpreter.

"Yes, I go. Vith you. I go." He accepted Albus' invitation, but then he wondered why he did so. He shouldn't be getting too close with them. He wasn't going to stay here long, and he knew they were only being nice out of sympathy, and he didn't like that. He still had his pride!

"Great!" Albus exclaimed with a grin. "We can go tomorrow afternoon." He paused and turned to Lord Potter. "Is that all right, Dad?"

The man looked to Scorpius and asked in German if it was okay with him. He nodded and Lord Potter smiled in reply. "Then you two may go."

"Thank you," Albus said before taking a bite out of a sandwich. After taking a second bite, he must have noticed Scorpius had not yet eaten. "Aren't you going to eat?" he managed to ask with a full mouth, his fingers pointing to the plate of sandwiches.

"What have I said about talking with food in your mouth?" Lord Potter admonished gently.

Albus swallowed. "Sorry," he apologised and looked over at Scorpius, obviously still waiting for an answer.

Scorpius, feeling obligated, timidly reached for a sandwich and took a bite. Upon tasting, he realised he was actually hungrier than he thought, his nervousness masking it previously. He quickly took another bite, enjoying the taste of cucumber and dill.

"They are good, aren't they?" Albus spoke with a smile, only to get a confused look from Scorpius in reply. The boy pointed to the sandwich. "Good?"

This time he understood and nodded in agreement. "Goot," he replied once he swallowed his bite.

The other boy left him alone then, making a few jokes here and there with the others, letting Scorpius have a few moments to himself. He found it nice to not have to struggle to understand what the boy was saying, though he had to admit it was somewhat nice to have someone his own age to talk to. He hadn't talked to any other kid since right before he left Germany. Yes, he had been with hundreds of other children on the way to England, but none of them were really up for a chat and neither had he. But again, it didn't really matter. It wouldn't be long until he was with children like himself again and with his own family, where he wouldn't have to translate every little word.

After finishing his second sandwich, Scorpius' attention was once again captured by Albus, who looked like he was struggling with something. "W--," he began with scrunched face. "Uh, one second." He then turned to Lord Potter then and asked, "May I get up and ask you a question?"

"I don't see why you need to get up to do that, but all right," he replied and the boy got up and went to his father.

Scorpius eyed the both of them curiously as Albus whispered in the man's ear, and the man whispered back. After getting whatever answer he needed, he scurried back to his seat and smiled at Scorpius before speaking again. "Wie tun . . . Sie mögen . . . es hier bis . . . jetzt?"

Though it was forcibly spoken, and with a bad accent on top of it, Scorpius was able to understand that the boy was asking how he liked the place so far. "I . . . " He started, but wasn't really sure how to answer. After all, he had just gotten there and thought he already decided he hated them -- he didn't really want to be rude. "It . . . is . . . goot," he eventually answered.

Smiling, Albus sat back down at his spot and resumed his sandwich.

Scorpius finished his, drank some tea, and then he realised something. "V-vhere iz your mutter?"

Apparently it was the wrong question to ask since everybody -- despite not knowing German knew that word -- stopped talking.

Quickly, Scorpius apologised. "I am sorry asking."

Lord Potter gave him a gentle smile and answered in German. "It's okay, Scorpius. My wife, Lady Potter, passed away a long time ago from diphtheria. We all miss her, but we get along fine now."

Nodding, Scorpius apologised again in German and Lord Potter assured him that it was fine. "After tea, why don't you write a letter to your parents? I'll send it off for you."

"Ja. I vill do that. Thank you."

With a nod to everyone, Lord Potter left the room, with Lily tagging behind him, asking him something about reading a book later. Teddy and James both took their leave in the labyrinth, and soon it was just him and Albus.

"Come. I'll take you back to your room."

Understanding the gist of it, Scorpius followed Albus through the mazes and soon they were both in his room.

"May I stay here and keep you company?"

Scorpius blinked as he tried to figure out the meaning.

Grinning, Albus pointed to himself and then pointed to the floor. "Me stay?"

"Ah, ja, yes. You stay."

And that was what they did. Albus sat on one of the window seats while Scorpius sat at his desk and wrote a letter to his parents saying he arrived well and what the Potters were like. He was tempted to write awful things about them, but he decided against it since they really weren't bad -- on the contrary they were great. The Potters were vastly different from the Malfoys. The Potters were openly friendly and warm while his parents were loving as them but more closed off to their emotions.

Quickly, he finished up the letter and when done, he walked over to where Albus sat, and before he could even ask, Albus scooted over. "Done? Here, sit."

He sat, without saying anything, and he looked out the window to take in the view of Wellingborough at the bottom of the hill, the woodsy area that scattered around the manor, and the English moors he had read about in his books.

* * *

_February 1939_

It had been over a month, almost two, since his arrival at the Potter household, and Scorpius was slowly warming up to it. He had gone with Albus the day after his arrival to the theatre and watched the featured Mickey Mouse shorts. They were all in English, but he had seen them before back in Germany and could easily tell what was going on and when to laugh. Afterwards, the two of them headed back to the Potter manor, stopping for a second along the way to buy ice cream from a bicycling merchant.

Through the weeks, he had continued exchanging small letters with his parents, each time being promised they would make it to England soon, but never being able to yet. _They will get here when they can_, he told himself repeatedly. He was certain that it wouldn't be long. After all, they had said they would be there as soon as possible to get him, and his parents never lied.

"Ich vermisse dich," he whispered, the German words for 'I miss you', as he signed his name on the letter.

He then heard a knock on the door and turned his head towards it. "Yes?"

"It is I," Lord Potter replied. "May I come in?"

"You may," he answered and set down his pen on the table as the door opened, and Lord Potter walked in.

"Good evening, Scorpius," he greeted and approached the table.

Scorpius smiled lightly. "Hello, Lord Potter."

He returned the smile before moving on to explain why he was there; speaking in German to ensure the boy understood everything. "As you probably have realised, the length of your stay here isn't certain. I have decided that it is probably best to enrol you in Wellingborough School where the boys attend. This way you can maintain your education and not fall behind once you leave. It will also give you something to do while the others are at school. How would you like that?"

Scorpius thought long and hard about Lord Potter's suggestion. He hadn't even thought about going to school -- at least not until he was reunited with his parents. The idea of going to school without them here felt like betrayal in his part. He just didn't want to get too close to this family during his duration here. And going to school under Lord Potter's name made it seem like the gap he had between his parents grew larger and larger.

In Germany, Scorpius loved school. Naturally bright and studious, he had been at the top of his class, and he missed that feeling. He missed the challenges of learning, but he knew instinctively that if he went to a British school, he would no longer be at the top of the class. At least not for a couple of years.

But he still wanted to learn. His mind drifted through the events of the past two months. Teddy was already finished with school, so he helped with Lord Potter's job. James was in his last year, so he attended school as well as Albus, while Lily went to an all-girls' school in the town. While everyone worked or attended school, during the day, Scorpius was with the hired help in the big mansion. With the German books he had in his room, he self-studied what he could, and when the work day and school day both ended, he'd be with the Potters having tea or playing with Albus and Lily.

He would never admit it to anyone, but he was lonely during the day. Along with that, he felt like his English wasn't improving as fast as it would if he had gone to school.

With mixed feelings churning inside of him, he took a deep breath and said, "Ja. I want to go to school. But I don't want to be a burden to you."

"You are never going to be a burden, Scorpius. Believe it or not, your father and I actually met each other during the Great War. He fought for Germany, and I fought for England, and while we were on two opposing enemy front, we actually learned to respect one another. I wouldn't say we became friends since our mutual animosity did stem from that war, but after the war, we continued to correspond with each other, and it was he who helped me establish myself as who I am today. He was also the one who, more or less, slapped me back to reality when my wife passed away. I don't think you are aware that we'd travel to each other countries, and we'd meet up from time to time." Lord Potter took a breath and smiled. "Good thing I dealt with a lot of Germans at work these past decades! Otherwise, we'd have some huge language barrier. I knew becoming fluent in German would soon find its usage other than for work purposes!"

Scorpius smiled at the little joke. Lord Potter's German was good -- sounding practically like a native-speaker. And as for his father knowing Lord Potter, he didn't know. He knew his father travelled to England many times for business trips, at least.

"Now, when you were sent here, I didn't know for sure who I was going to get. See, I volunteered with the Jewish Refugee Committee to offer my place to one child, but it wasn't until after I received news that you arrived in England that I knew it was you. You coming here was all merely a coincidence, but I'm glad it is you. And since your parents are still having some difficulties with the immigration office, and we are not sure how long they will be delayed, I don't want your education to falter like this, so after I contacted your father about this, we both agree that you should start attending school here."

The news of his fathers' knowing each other really did put a new angle on how Scorpius thought about the Potters now. Despite maintaining a civil appearance with them, he still tried to keep his distance from them and still tried to "hate" them, but trying to hate them was trying to hate himself and his parents. He just couldn't really do that. These people were genuinely good people, so to hate them for being here is much like Hitler hating the Jews just for who they are. And Scorpius definitely did not want to be compared to that monster.

Nodding, he said, "I'll go. If it's all right with you and father, I'll go."

"Then with today being Thursday, you will start the coming Monday. Tomorrow, you will need to get fitted for the school uniform, all right?"

"Ja, thank you."

"Good," the man smiled before glancing over to the letter. "Would you like me to send Clyde up to collect and mail off your letter once you seal it all up?"

He nodded. "Ja."

"All right then, I will see in the morning." Before leaving, he stopped at the doorway and said , "Good night."

"Gute nacht," Scorpius replied with a smile.

Lord Potter left and Scorpius began sealing the letter in a nearby envelope. Clyde arrived soon after and collected the letter to send it off for him. He then went to bed, excited about the latest occurrence and the preparations the next day.

* * *

Scorpius was glad on Monday to find out he had all his classes with Albus. If it wasn't for him, he'd have likely gotten lost and confused. The teachers had a terrible issue of talking too fast for him, but luckily Albus was always there to clarify.

The morning passed by in a blur, and when it was midday meal time, Scorpius and Albus sat together, sharing the long table with the other boys. However, instead of interacting with them, Scorpius was busy concentrating on Albus going over one of their lectures from earlier.

"Eight times n plus forty-six equals seventy-eight," Albus read as he pointed to his paper. "We need to find out what n equals." He paused and looked up at Scorpius. "Understand?"

He nodded and Albus smiled before continuing. "First, we take forty-six and subtract it from seventy-eight. Then, we divide the resulting number by eight. The answer to that is n."

"Okay," he replied with another nod and began working on the problem on his own paper, muttering the numbers under his breath in German as he did so. "Sechvierzig . . . achtundsiebzig . . . zweidreibig . . . acht . . . vier." He then looked up to Albus and asked, "Like dis?"

Albus leaned over to look before smiling and replying, "Yes! And the others are just like that except some have different variables. The variables are all the letters next to numbers."

The two worked this way until all of their assignments were done. Tired both mentally and physically, Scorpius leaned back in his seat and sighed.

"Tired?"

"Ja, tired. But . . . " he paused as he tried to find the words to express himself. "I miss school. I miss works."

"Well, I'm glad you're with me."

At first, Scorpius didn't quite catch the sentence, so Albus repeated it. "Ah." He gave Albus a tentative smile. "I am happy you help. Help me. Da -- Thank you."

"Bitte."

That single word made him give Albus a genuine smile.

Scorpius had been worried about being stuck alone at school as Albus spent all his time with friends, though the boy had rarely left his side. Albus told him that that he didn't have a specific group of friends, that he was on good terms with practically everyone in his year, but he wasn't too close to anyone and usually stuck to himself or with family. This seemed odd to Scorpius, who had had a specific circle of friends in school that he rarely strayed from. Still, having Albus to himself, or even with just a family member or two, appeared more appealing than ending up the odd one out when around a mountain of people he didn't know.

"Could I have your bread pudding?" Louis, the only relative of Albus' in their year, asked Scorpius, pointing to the odd looking food on his plate.

"Ja."

"Thanks!" Louis exclaimed, as he began moving the pudding to his own plate.

"So, Scor," Albus began, "How do you like it here so far?"

"It is goot," he replied with a smile. "De teachers are a bit confusing, but you are goot at explaining."

The answer seemed to please Albus, whose face lit up at the reply. "That is great!"

"I think you are a loon," Louis commented as he finished off a bite of pudding. "Both of you. School is boring. I hate being forced to learn all this useless stuff."

"I like to learn," Scorpius said timidly.

"Me too," Albus agreed with a smirk. "Louis here just doesn't have much brain, and learning nearly kills him."

"Hey!" Louis exclaimed. "Not nice!"

Scorpius gave a confused look, not having caught all of what was said. Luckily, Albus noticed and pulled out a piece of paper and pen. Albus had learned earlier that it was easier for Scorpius to understand things if he wrote it down. _Louis is pretty stupid and learning hurts his head,_ he scribbled down before passing it to Scorpius.

He chuckled and said, "Poor, Louis."

"Now you got him laughing at me, too!" Louis glared Albus.

"Maybe you should study more."

"Shut up," Louis mumbled and continued eating the pudding.

Scorpius just smiled at the exchange, finding it a bit familiar to conversations with his friends back home. Even with different language, culture, and customs, the children were a lot like the ones he had known. Of course, Albus didn't compare to most of his old friends. He was a lot nicer, considerate, and went out of his way to help him out even if he didn't need to. When it was time to leave, he would really miss the youngest Potter boy.

* * *

_July 1939_

Albus gave Scorpius a grin as they reached the fountain, their breaths heavy from the long sprint. They were playing Bulldogs with Lily, Louis, and some other children Scorpius had met the previous week: Rose, Hugo, Lorcan, and Lysander; the former being brother and sister and the latter twins. They were the children of Lord Potter's friends who came to visit occasionally to catch up and discuss things that would make Scorpius' mind spin in confusion when he tried to listen in.

School had been over for about a week. As expected, Scorpius hadn't been top of his class as he had been back in Germany, but he didn't mind so much. He was just content to be able to make it through without falling helplessly behind. He owed it all to Albus, who never seemed to mind taking the time to explain the schoolwork. Spending time with Albus, as well as attending school, also helped him improve his English. Less and less he had to ask Lord Potter to interpret what Albus or the others said.

"You guys are too fast," Rose panted a few feet away.

"Not our faults you lot are slow," Albus smirked.

"Mark my words Albus Severus Potter, I will tag you before this game is out."

"You can try," he shrugged.

After shooting him a glare, Rose ran off again to attempt to tag the others with Lorcan. The eldest twin managed to tag Hugo before making it to the fountain along with Lily, Louis, and Lysander.

They ran around -- the area filled with laughter of his new friends. Scorpius dashed around the fountain, feeling the breeze pass by him. Playing games like this with others allowed him to escape his worries about his parents. It had already been more than six months now since he came here, and despite the letters of encouragement from them, which were becoming fewer as time went on, he couldn't help but worry and resent his parents for not keeping their promises.

But regardless, he tried not to think about them in a negative manner and only tried to keep up the faith on them coming here soon. Perhaps in a couple more months? He hoped it wouldn't be much longer. He did truly miss them and worried for them.

Suddenly, he heard James' naturally loud booming voice. "Okay, young ones! It's time for dinner! Come on in before I eat it all!"

That distracted him, so he stopped for a few seconds and that was when Albus, who had been it, pounced on him, making Scorpius fall over with Albus on top of him.

"Oof!" That fall knocked the wind out of him. He dazedly looked up into Albus' grinning face.

"Got you! You're it when we come back outside later!" Standing up, Albus extended his hand out to help Scorpius off the ground. "I'm sorry. Didn't mean to make you fall."

"It is all right." Scorpius recovered from his fall, and with Albus' warm hand clasping his, he stood up and smiled at him. "Are you hurt?"

"No. I'm fine. Now, come! Let's go. I fear one day he will eat all the food. He knows how to clean up more than his share!"

Understanding and laughing at Albus' hyperbole, the two of them and their friends all ran into the house. Both maids scolded all of them for bringing in dirt, but they didn't pay any attention since the maids all scolded them with smiles on their faces.

After they all quickly cleaned themselves up, they all gathered into the large dining room, where the adults along with James and Teddy were already present.

Scorpius took his usual spot between Albus and Lily, and the next hour showed a picture of happiness as they all ate good foods and chattered amongst themselves.

"Oh, Ronald," the bushy-haired woman down the table shook her head at her red-headed husband. "Must you shove your face with food like that? The food isn't going to disappear."

Mr. Weasley swallowed his mouthful and smiled cheekily. "But Hermione, it tastes so good."

"The flavour will last longer if you savour it."

"But I much prefer the taste of loads of it at once."

"What am I going to do with you?" she muttered, making the children giggle simultaneously.

Teddy flashed James a smile. "So I take it you get your eating habits from your mum's side, eh?"

"Shuwt up," he replied with a mouthful, earning a playful nudge from his friend.

"You know," the odd blonde woman, Luna Scamander, spoke up. "I hear that eating fast can make a hole in your stomach. That is why Rolf here eats as slow as a snail. He doesn't want to take the chance, you know?"

"Know you're a nut," Mrs. Weasley muttered into her cup.

"Hmm?" Mrs. Scamander sounded with light curiosity.

The woman shook her head. "Nothing, nothing."

Scorpius bit back a snicker and he could tell Albus was doing the same. He could sense the animosity between the two women, well, from Mrs. Weasley's side mostly. Mrs. Scamander's head was too far off to carry any hostility from what Scorpius noticed. The group of people was interesting though, he noted. Lord Weasley, Mr. Weasley's eldest brother, seemed the epitome of cool and his wife, Lady Weasley, the most elegant woman he had seen since he last saw his own mother. The Scamanders were the craziest people and the most knowledgeable in abnormal facts. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were an odd match, him being a not-too-bright man with a large appetite for food and her an intelligent woman with a large appetite for books.

"May we be excused?" Victoire asked, after finishing the last bite on her plate. "Dominique and I wanted to finish embroidering our handkerchiefs."

"Yes, you may," Lady Weasley answered.

"Thank you, Mother," Dominique replied before looking to both Lily and Rose. "Would you two like to join us?"

"No, thank you," Rose answered. "We have got to beat the boys at Bulldogs."

Scorpius saw the tongue Hugo gave his sister behind their mother's back. "You will never beat us, right Scorpius?"

"Er." Scorpius looked at Lily who gave him the biggest puppy dog eyes he ever saw. "I don't know. The girls are . . . " He struggled to come up with the word. "Tough."

"He's right! We'll show them, Lily!" Rose made her declaration, and after excusing herself from the table, she headed outside first with Hugo following.

Albus and Scorpius were the last to come out, and when they were going through the long hallway, Albus said, "Lily won you over, eh? Can't say no to her when she makes those eyes at you. She's the darling spoiled baby of the family, after all."

Scorpius nodded, understanding fully on how it's like to be the spoiled child of the family. "I was like that. My parents spoiled me."

"At least you don't act horrid like that Alston McLaggen. I've overheard James and Teddy talking about how they overheard that even McLaggen's father acted like his son when he was young." Albus made a face when he said their snotty classmate's name.

Grinning, Scorpius said, "Well, comparing me to him is like comparing mudpies and chocolate mousse!"

"Yeah, only you're the better one. Though I don't think you'd be any tastier than McLaggen!"

Laughing, the two friends went outside and joined in another round of the game, with Scorpius being it first.

* * *

**Part II**  
_September 1939_

_Dear Mutter and Vater,_

_I miss and love you two and cannot wait until you two arrive here. The Potter's place is nice, and I am having a lot of fun here, but it is still not as great as being with you both. It seems like forever since I have seen you. I almost feel like you will never make it, but I know that you two will do whatever you can to get here. Until then, I will try my best not to be sad since I know that you don't like it when I am._

_Since I last wrote you, I have been spending more time with Albus, his cousins, and their family friends. Lorcan and Lysander are a bit strange -- they look identical and tend to speak at the same time -- but they are not as weird as their father or mother. Hugo has a weird bug collection, and Rose is a bit bossy and a know-it-all. Louis' sisters have been around, too, but they keep to themselves doing womanly activites. I think Victoire, the older one, likes Teddy, but he doesn't give her too much attention._

_Albus and I have been reading some of his books together. I have read some parts by myself, but my English isn't perfect enough yet, so I usually have to ask Albus for help. Lord Potter has some German books, too, and sometimes I read them, but not often since he doesn't have many I find interesting._

_School started a few days ago. It is just the same as before. Albus and I have most classes together, though not all. Luckily all the classes he isn't in Louis is, so I am not all by myself. Hugo and the twins now have lunch with us, which I find a bit odd since I am used to it just being me, Albus, and Louis, but the company is still good so I don't mind._

_I don't have much else to say. I love and miss you both. I said it earlier, but I want to make sure you know._

_Wish you were here,_  
_Scorpius_

He set his pen down after he finished the last word. He read over it, making sure it was all correct before he sealed it up in an envelope. He looked at the date of the letter, Sunday, September 3, 1939. Once done, he headed downstairs and found Clyde.

"Please mail this for me, Clyde."

"Will do, young master." Clyde bowed and took his leave with the letter.

When Clyde was out of sight, Scorpius decided to find Albus, but Lord Potter approached him instead.

"Scorpius? Would you care to join me for some tea? I need to talk to you about something."

"Of course, Lord Potter." While he followed the master of the house to the tea room, he quickly checked over himself, making sure nothing on him stood out of place. It wasn't long when he sat in a comfortable armchair and had a warm cup in his tea. As he took a sip, he waited patiently for him to talk.

Lord Potter cleared his throat and hesitated before saying, "As you know . . . Germany invaded Poland two days ago. We, the British, have officially declared war on them about an hour or so ago."

"Ah," Scorpius set his cup down and watched how he clenched his hands in his lap. He knew about the invasion. Everyone did. A strange part of him felt ashamed, like he was the one who started the invasion, which made no sense, but to him he still considered himself German, despite how the Nazis had stripped him and his family of their citizenship to stateless Jews.

"Yes," Lord Potter continued, "unfortunately, war has begun. And as much as I hate to be the bearer of bad news . . . I think your parents coming here now will be extremely difficult. Not only that, but I think them leaving Germany alone will be difficult."

"I . . . " Scorpius tried to take in the news as well as he could. To be honest, when he had heard about the invasion two days ago, deep inside of him, he knew that once war was officially declared, things were to go in an entirely different direction for his parents.

Scorpius looked up when he heard a sigh from him. "Look, I never make a promise I cannot keep, but I will try my best, will try everything that I have, to bring them here."

As much as Scorpius wanted his parents right now, he thought of something else instead. "Do . . . do you still want me to stay here?"

He saw that his question threw the man off the course, for Lord Potter sat there blinking, his bespectacled green eye giving off a confused look. "What do you mean? Of course you will stay here!"

"But . . . won't my stay here be dangerous?"

He looked at the frown on the older man's face. "I don't understand."

"I mean . . . I am a German Jew. That means, I am the enemy."

As soon as the words left his mouth, Scorpius saw Lord Potter for who he really was. The man absolutely emanated sheer power, anger, and sadness towards him, and Scorpius had to force himself not to cower under that look.

"Scorpius Malfoy. Yes, you are Jewish. Yes, you are German. But that does not mean you are the enemy!" Lord Potter's face softened as he continued his next statement. "In this world, there are good Germans and bad Germans. Good Jews and bad Jews. Good British and bad British. I've been taught to judge others based on their social backgrounds and classes, their religious and political affiliations, and other factors that divides society up into many factions. However, when I was in the Great War, I discovered the truth of our world. We, regardless of who we are, are all human, the same species, and since then I've decided that if I cannot judge people based on their personality and their inner selves, then I have no right to even judge myself."

This short speech was perhaps the most eloquently delivered set of words he had heard in his short life. As he took in the man's words and processed them, he realised that Lord Potter was right. Even if he himself would always feel a bit of that shame for his origins, he shouldn't judge others like the way anti-Semitic people judged him.

The realisation bought tears of gratitude to him, and as he hastily tried to blink them back or swiped at them, he felt a pair of strong, warm, and protective arms around him. He allowed himself to be hugged, and that was when he knew that Lord Potter would always be there for him. Lord Potter was not one to be disloyal to anyone without a reason.

A door slowly creaked open, and Scorpius left the embrace to see who it was. "Scorpius?" a familiar voice asked before walking into the room. "I have been looking for you everywhere. I was --" Albus then paused when he noticed the tears going down Scorpius' face. "What is wrong?"

Lord Potter, who was standing next to Scorpius' seat, looked to his son with a grim expression. "I just told him some dire news."

"What?"

"Britain has declared war on Germany, and that means that it will be longer than expected until Scorpius' parents can make it here or even out of the country."

Albus looked shocked and his eyes went back and forth between his father and his friend before finally just settling on Scorpius. "I am sorry."

"It isn't your fault," he replied with an attempt at a smile.

"I am going to go find Teddy and James now," Lord Potter spoke up. "You two feel free to ask Loretta to fetch anything you want from the kitchen."

The boys nodded and he took his leave. Once Lord Potter was out of the room, Albus moved to the chair where Scorpius sat and sat on its arm. "How are you feeling?" he asked with real concern evident in his eyes.

"A mixture of things," Scorpius replied as he looked at his lap glumly. "Confused as to why all of this happened. Sad that I do not know when my parents will be able to be here. Scared that they aren't safe and that I may not be, whether now or further in the future. I don't know what to do or what to expect."

For the second time, Scorpius felt arms wrapped around him. These were not as strong or large, but just as warm and comforting. He felt Albus' head on his, and he felt touched when Albus' hands rubbed his back gently, his way of trying to placate Scorpius, obviously.

"Thank you," Scorpius spoke as tears quietly made their way down his face again. "I am glad I was brought here to such caring people."

Albus offered him a comforting smile and brushed a few tears off of his face. "And I am happy you are here, too."

* * *

_December 1939_

Already a year had passed since he came here. He glumly looked at the 25-word Red Cross postcard. With the war blazing on, this little card filled with a generic "we miss you, we will be there soon" message were the only thing his parents were allowed to send now. And Scorpius, too, was only allowed to send a similar card telling him that he was fine and that he missed them.

He learned that a lot can happen in a year, and things changing drastically in three months shouldn't be surprising.

The Potter household now lacked two members: Teddy and James. As soon as the war's declaration came to be known everywhere, both young men decided to enlist in the Royal Air Force. For some reason, Scorpius envied them. He wanted to do something for his adopted country, but at the age of twelve, what could he do?

He, Albus, and Lily still attended school, but now their routines consisted of air raid exercises. Loud sirens blaring across their town became a usual occurrence. Along with the unwelcome blast of ear-shattering sounds, they quickly became a master at putting on their gas masks in a matter of seconds.

Things they took for granted became hard to find as the rationing system was put into place. They weren't starving by any means, no, but any luxury such as chocolate and real butter all disappeared as they went to the war effort.

But Scorpius didn't care about that. He knew he was lucky enough to have a place over his head and people who will protect and care for him. He only wanted his parents to join him. Then things would be finally fine.

However, he could not deny that his friendship with Albus and Lily were growing, and he also began to see Lord Potter as another father figure. Last year he felt like an outsider intruding on a foreign family. Now? He didn't feel that self-induced separation from them. Now that his English skills were practically on a native-speaker's level, that erased any language barrier between him and the people around him.

In fact, now he was at the top of his class again -- even beating Albus -- but the two of them didn't compete against each other. Albus seemed content to let Scorpius be the leader in their class.

"Scorpius!" Albus' call broke his daydreaming. "Teddy and James are here! Those two are on leave and are here on a surprise visit! Come on down!"

"Coming!" Scorpius yelled in reply and laid the card down on the desk before hurrying down the staircase.

"Lily, Teddy isn't a playground for you the climb all over," he heard Lord Potter lightly scold the girl as he made his way down the flight of stairs.

"It's okay," Teddy chuckled and rustled the little girl's hair, earning him a giggle.

"I missed you _so_ much, Ted Ted!" she exclaimed as she hugged his neck.

"Missed you too, Lily-kins," he replied with a smile before noticing Scorpius who was now at the bottom of the stairs. "Hey there, Scor!"

Scorpius' lips formed a big smile. "Welcome back, Teddy! Where is James?"

"Stuffing his face," Albus laughed from his spot next to his father.

"He is grabbing a sandwich," Lord Potter added and gave his youngest son a stern look. "Could you two boys help carry up their bags?"

"All right!" They both replied in unison and grabbed a bag each from the line of luggage by the door.

"Thank you," Teddy smiled as he picked up two suitcases. "Since you two are helping, and James is pigging out instead, how about we make him take us all to the cinema later?"

With Lord Potter heading towards the library with Lily, the two boys nodded with grins and rushed up the stairway, Teddy laughing to himself as he followed behind them.

It didn't take long for them to reach the rooms, which were connected by a joint bathroom. They entered James' room first, which was much like Scorpius' room except the bed was covered in crimson material instead of the evergreen he was accustomed to in his own room. He had never been in the room before, since the older boys' rooms were off limits, so his eyes took note of all the small things decorating the room; the baseball and glove on the desk, the old calendar of automobiles still hanging on the wall, and the forgotten candy wrappers on the nightstand.

Teddy laid a suitcase down on the bed, and Albus put the bag he had been carrying down with it. They then made way for the other door, the one leading to the linking bathroom, and moved on to the other room. This time, the bed sheets had teal and gold colouring scheme, the desk had books upon it, the nightstand clear of all but a lamp, and only a hole in the wall where a calendar once was.

"Scor?" Albus called, and Scorpius snapped out of observances before setting down the bag he was holding next to Teddy's suitcase.

"Thanks again, you two," Teddy smiled. "Now, how about you both go track down James and tell him to come up here and unpack so that way we can take you kids out. Oh, tell Lily to get ready and inform Lord Potter we are kidnapping you."

"All right," Albus replied and grabbed Scorpius by the wrist, dragging him along back downstairs.

Scorpius and Albus both ran down to tell James Teddy's message, and then they went to tell Lord Potter and Lily their plan. When they came out of the library, they went back to their rooms to grab their coats, scarves, gloves, and hats. They met back at the bottom of the staircase, meeting Lily who was all dressed up in her winter clothing with a big smile.

"I'm so glad Teddy and James are back!" Lily said, clapping her hands in happiness.

The three of them chattered about what the film they were to see at the cinema, and after a while, Scorpius realised that Teddy and James were taking a long time.

"What's taking them so long?" Albus asked out loud.

"Don't know. Maybe they had more to unpack than we thought," Scorpius said, shrugging his thin shoulders.

"Let's go get them!" And before he could say otherwise, Albus dashed up the stairs.

Quickly, he turned to Lily. "Wait here, okay?" Without hearing her response, he followed Albus up the stairs, and when he reached the hallway that housed Teddy's and James' rooms, he stopped. Albus was standing in front of the partially opened door, sporting an astonished expression.

Quietly, Scorpius tip-toed to where Albus stood, and he looked in through the opening. What he saw immediately made his mouth dry.

He watched the following scene unfold in front of him. Teddy was on his back on the large bed, and James was on top of him. Kissing Teddy deeply on the mouth, to which Teddy responded back but a minute or so later, he broke it.

"James, we can't do this now. The children are waiting!" Teddy tried to push James off of him, but James didn't budge.

"They can wait. I can't. We've hadn't had any moments together when we were on duty."

"But . . . !"

"And besides," James leaned down to kiss Teddy's pale neck while his hand disappeared between them. "You want it just as much as I do."

At first Scorpius thought Teddy was in pain since he arched off the bed with a soft cry, but that sound quickly turned into a moan.

"James . . . " Teddy groaned and ran a hand through the other man's hair.

A hand then grabbed Scorpius' wrist, and he heard Albus whisper, "I think we should go." He could only nod as his mind tried to comprehend what he had just seen.

Albus led him back down the hall and down the staircase silently, gently dragging him along by the wrist. Scorpius kept trying to figure out what had gone on in the bedroom. He knew what they were doing, but he couldn't understand why. That was the things he heard boys and girls do together. Both James and Teddy were both male and that wasn't normal. Was it?

When they reached the bottom of the stairway, they saw Lily standing patiently and swinging her hips. "Lily," Albus began. "They will be down in a little bit. How about you go to the kitchen and have a light snack?"

"Mmmkay," she responded absent-mindedly and skipped off, leaving the two of them to sit alone together on the last step of the stairs, looking off into space.

It was quiet for a minute or so before Albus finally spoke again. "That was . . . "

"Yeah," Scorpius replied softly.

"I guess . . . they are a couple?"

He nodded. "I suppose so."

"Do you think it's weird?" Albus asked. "Two men?"

"I . . . " Scorpius paused as he tried to think through his answer. "I don't know. I always thought it was just . . . between a man and a woman. The idea of two men . . . "

"Yeah."

Scorpius looked at Albus' faraway expression. "Actually, I do recall hearing a conversation about this between my father and one of his friends. Apparently one of their friends . . . must be one of those men because Berlin used to be . . . " The word Scorpius looked for was at the tip of his tongue. He knew it in German, but not in English.

"What?"

"What's the opposite of conservative?"

"Liberal?"

"Yes! That's the word." Scorpius tried to recall that part of Berlin's history, but since it was never commonly discussed, he was having trouble remembering the little information. "However, the Nazis didn't like it."

As both of them silently sat together, a few minutes of solace passed between them before Albus said, "Well, at least this explains one thing."

"Explains what?"

A slow grin came onto his face. "That would explain why Teddy's not responding to Victoire's advances."

Even though this statement wasn't a hilarious one, both boys started to laugh. Perhaps it was the way Albus said it, with that quirky grin, or perhaps they were both unleashing their nerves. Whatever it was, both of them laughed loudly, and it drew Lily, James, and Teddy to them.

"What's so funny?" James asked bemusedly.

"Is it a new joke?" Lily wondered, jumping up down while holding hands with Teddy and James.

Albus and Scorpius shared a conspiratorial look with each other and chimed at the same time. "It's nothing!"

"If it's nothing, then can it! Let's go to the cinema." With that said, James led them all out on their little escapade.

* * *

_August 1940_

It had been almost a year since the war started. A school year had come and went, his friends there to talk him through any worries. Of course, their consoling words slowly comforted him less and less as the Red Cross postcards from his parents were taking longer to arrive. As of the first week of August, it had been over three months since he last received a postcard, and he became almost certain he wasn't getting any more.

"Mutter, Vater," Scorpius whispered as he looked through the previous postcards and letters he kept in an old box. A tear fell down his face and he quickly wiped it away.

_Knock, knock_. He set the letters down and looked up. "Ja?"

"It's Albus," a voice answered. "May I come in?"

"Of course," he replied, putting the letters back in the box and sliding it under his bed as Albus entered the room.

"How are you doing?" his friend asked just in front of the doorway, genuine concern apparent in his eyes.

"Fi--," Scorpius began, but stopped himself, frowning slightly. He knew that Albus wouldn't buy into a "fine". He had become closer to him since his first arrival. They spent most of their time together and shared everything. Albus would see through the lie, so he realised he shouldn't even attempt. "I miss them."

Albus walked silently towards the bed and Scorpius scooted over to give him room to sit beside him. He wrapped a hand around his sorrowful friend's shoulder. "I wish I could do something to help."

"It's okay," Scorpius replied and leaned into Albus' arm. "I just want a postcard to arrive so I can stop worrying." He sniffled and rubbed at his eyes. "I am starting to think they won't ever write again. What if they are dead?" He looked up at Albus with watery eyes, almost as if his friend would have an answer.

Albus brushed his hand through Scorpius' hair gently. "I am sure they are okay."

"Yes . . . " Scorpius swiped at his eyes and closed them when they were dry. "I want to believe that, but unless I get something from them . . . even a telegram or something . . . "

He felt Albus' arms around his shoulders tightened. "Never stop believing, Scor. Don't give up."

Something in Albus' voice comforted him. Maybe it was the determination laced through those words. Or maybe it was that arm around his shoulder, its warmth seeping through his clothing. Whatever it was, Scorpius rested his head on Albus' shoulders and allowed his arms to wrap around the other's waist.

They sat there like that in silence, exchanging no words until Albus soft voice said, "Scor?"

"Hm?" Scorpius lifted his head slightly and looked up at his friend's face.

"I--I will always be here for you, okay?" Albus said, his eyes stern, yet gentle.

He gave a light smile in reply. "I know."

"And--" the other boy started, but stopped.

Scorpius scrunched his forehead and asked, "And what?"

Albus opened and closed his mouth, as if he were about to say something but at the last minute decided against it.

"Is something wrong?" Scorpius asked in unease.

Albus took a deep breath and moved his free hand to brush against the side of Scorpius' face, from his cheek to his chin. Scorpius could only look at him with confusion before Albus leaned in and their lips met.

It took a few seconds for the realisation to hit Scorpius. Albus was kissing him, Albus' lips were on his, and Albus' lips were incredibly warm and soft.

And he found himself feeling nothing of disgust. Instead, he felt like this was something they should have done a long time ago, as strange as that sounded in his head. At the same time, though, he couldn't help but think something was a bit wrong with this turn of event.

Gently, he pressed his free hand against Albus' chest and pushed him. He looked over the boy with a dazed expression, but before he could say anything, Albus beat him to it.

"I--I'm sorry!" Blushing, Albus let go of Scorpius and jumped off the bed. "I don't know what came over me! Look! I know you're upset! And it's my fault! I'll . . . I'll just go now!"

Scorpius took in Albus' frightened and embarrassed demeanour. Obviously Albus' interpreted his actions as a really big rejection. While he wasn't exactly rejecting Albus, he didn't really want to enforce this new thing too quickly either. So Scorpius reached out to grab Albus' wrist, in an effort to calm his friend. "Wait!"

Albus halted and gave him a wide-eyed stare.

"Al . . . " Scorpius took a deep breath. "I'm not upset."

Now, Albus sported a bewildered look. "What? You should be! I mean . . . "

"I'm not upset," Scorpius repeated, tugging Albus back down onto the bed. "Honestly."

"But I kissed you! Without asking for your permission!" Albus exclaimed, sitting back on the bed hard. "You should have hit me or something!"

Scorpius raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Do you really want me to punch you?"

"No." Albus gave a sheepish look. "Not really. But . . . I really shouldn't have done that."

"Yes, perhaps you shouldn't have. Isn't this what most would call 'taking advantage of the weak'?" Scorpius said this in a dry manner. He really wasn't that upset or anything, but he saw this as a perfect opportunity to tease Albus, and he certainly wasn't going to give that up!

Again, a nice red blush stained Albus' cheeks as he apologised again. "I'm really sorry, Scor! Please don't hate me."

"Albus," Scorpius sighed. "I am not going to hate you. I could never hate you." He wisely decided to keep his secret about how he hated the Potters at the beginning. He didn't need to really upset Albus any further!

Albus smiled softly before he stared off at a random wall. "So," he began timidly. "What did you think of it?"

"The kiss?" Scorpius asked and Albus nodded. "I . . . I am not sure. I enjoyed it and it felt right in a way, but it was also a bit strange. It was sudden and . . . I think it shocked me a bit. I didn't hate it, though."

Albus turned his gaze towards Scorpius. "Really?"

"I might even go as far as to say you can kiss me again," he answered with a smirk. "But I don't want to just jump into anything. I mean, you haven't even told me your feelings. Not that I don't get the idea, but it would be nice to hear them." He bit his lip nervously and looked at Albus hopefully. "If you don't mind."

Albus nodded and smiled, his green eyes staring into the blue of Scorpius'. "I--I really like you," he began. "I am not sure when I started to, but it happened. I used to try to deny it, but after catching Teddy and James that one time, I thought that maybe there was a chance that you could like me, too."

"I see." Scorpius took a deep breath before he went on. "I, to be honest, haven't really thought about it. I mean, I didn't have any reason to think so. But now that it's there in front of me . . . I could like you to. I am not adverse to idea."

"As long as you're comfortable and fine with it, I won't do anything you don't want." Albus slowly reached out to grab one of Scorpius' hands, and he laced their fingers together. "I promise you that."

"Will you . . . " He was about ask Albus to kiss him again, but there was a loud knock on the door that cut him off.

"Scorpius? Albus? Are you two in there?" It was Lily.

The two of them quickly exchanged a look. "We'll discuss this more later," Albus whispered. Letting go of Scorpius' hand, he went to open the door.

He remained on the bed, clutching the hand Albus held in his other one. The former felt warm, tingly feelings at his fingertips. As he watched the two siblings talked, he smiled to himself as he decided that these new feelings, these new turn of events needed to be taken in slowly. Instinctively, he knew it was something to not rush headstrong into.

* * *

_June 1941_

"_We have but one aim and one single, irrevocable purpose. We are resolved to destroy Hitler and every vestige of the Nazi regime. From this nothing will turn us -- nothing. We will never parley, we will never negotiate with Hitler or any of his gang. We shall fight him by land, we shall fight him by sea, we shall fight him in the air, until, with God's help, we have rid the earth of his shadow and liberated its people from his yoke. Any man or state who fights on against Nazidom will have our aid. Any man or state who marches with Hitler is our foe . . . _"

Scorpius turned off the radio he recently had placed in his room, not interested in hearing anymore of Churchill's broadcast about promising British assistance to the Soviet Union. All news of the war seemed to mush together in his mind; Germany invaded and or attacked such-and-such country, a country joined forces with the Allied powers or the Axis, one nation declared war on another, or Hitler said or did this and this. He'd much rather have a postcard from his parents saying they were okay rather than listening to depressing news that he could do nothing about. Sometimes he just wished he could join the Royal Air Force like Teddy and James and just do something to help.

"Hey, Scor!" Albus' voice called from down the hall.

Scorpius approached the open doorway and popped his head out. "Yes?"

"They are playing _Target for Tonight_ at the cinema," Albus answered as he approached Scorpius. "You know that documentary about the RAF?"

"Oh," he said with interest.

"I take it you want to go?" Albus smirked.

"Of course!" Scorpius exclaimed. "Just need to put my shoes on."

He then moved back fully into his room and instantly began searching for his footwear, not noticing Albus' entry until he was standing again, having just picked up his shoes, felt arms wrap around his waist, and the other boy's chin on his shoulder. He tensed slightly at first, shocked by the sudden contact, before relaxing into the hold.

"You know, I can't exactly put on my shoes if you are holding me like that."

Instead of letting go, like Scorpius had expected him to do, Albus started walking him backwards before sitting down, with him placed on his lap, and moving his lips to Scorpius' ear. "Better?"

"Yes, though, it would be odd explaining why I am in your lap if anyone walks in."

"They are all busy," Albus replied. "And if they were to come upstairs, we would hear them."

Scorpius sighed and didn't argue the logic, instead sliding his first shoe on his foot and tying it up. Once he was done putting them on, he attempted to stand up, but Albus only held him tighter.

"I thought we were going to go to the cinema?" he asked, slightly annoyed.

Albus chuckled lightly. "But I like holding you like this."

"Albus!" Scorpius tried to unclasp the hands in middle of his torso. "The cinema was your idea! Or are you suffering from amnesia all of the sudden?"

He didn't hear any answer from Albus. Instead, he felt Albus nuzzling into that crook between his neck and his shoulder. Feeling the warm breath ghosting against his skin, he involuntarily shivered and instinctively tilted his head sideways to give Albus more room. This simple gesture gave Albus more encouragement since he began to kiss the skin there, and he began to trail upward, nipping the ear's outer shell and then planting soft kisses on Scorpius' cheeks.

"Al . . . " His words were cut off when he felt Albus' soft lips on his own. As he relaxed into the kiss, he felt like his entire body burned from the inner fire inside of him. He knew that it was impossible for his body to melt from the heat inside, but he briefly wondered if it was perhaps possible.

When he felt Albus' tongue tracing his lips, he startled and parted his lips. This allowed Albus' tongue to enter into his mouth, and he had to wonder if this was even natural? Kissing with tongues inside each other's mouth? He never really saw anybody kiss like that before. While these thoughts ran into his head, he briefly moved his tongue, making it bump and meet Albus', and it felt strangely good. He did it again -- this time he slipped his into Albus' mouth, and it left him feeling breathless, as well as tasting the tea and biscuit they had earlier along with Albus' own "flavour".

It was Albus who broke the kiss first. Scorpius dazedly looked at his friend's face, which was all flushed. He figured that he was flushed as well. Both of them panted from their excursion mere seconds ago.

"That was . . . " Scorpius trailed off as he shifted his weight on Albus' lap. That was when he felt something beneath him, and when Albus' let out a soft gasp followed by a moan, he knew just what was ailing his friend.

"I . . . let me get off, Al. I don't want to hurt you."

"You aren't . . . _hurting_ me," Albus forced out, but Scorpius didn't listen.

He managed to stand up and escape Albus' hold. "There," Scorpius began, turned to his friend. "Now, I won't be hurting you anymore."

Scorpius then sat beside him, Albus shaking his head in disbelief. "You are not the brightest , despite being at the top of our class, are you?"

"Hmm?" Scorpius questioned with a furrowed brow.

Albus let out a deep breath and turned to him. "You weren't hurting me," he replied, his gaze firm.

"But you sounded--"

"That wasn't out of pain," He attempted to explain vaguely, obviously hoping Scorpius would catch on.

"But then why--" He stopped when he suddenly remembered that one Christmas almost two years ago, when he and Albus had caught Teddy and James. Just now, Albus' moan of "pain" was very similar to the one he had heard Teddy release in a moment of intimacy. Scorpius' eyes widened with realisation. "Oh . . . "

"I take it you understand," Albus said before moving in to kiss him again.

Scorpius felt lips on his for the second time that day, and he impulsively closed his eyes and kissed back, losing any track of thought he once had. The kissed deepened like before, Albus' tongue slowly entering his mouth and his own making its way into Albus'. He then felt a hand on the nape of his neck and the weight of the other boy guiding him to a lying position on the bed. Another hand made its way under his shirt, and he unconsciously leaned into the touch. He wanted to ask what Albus was doing, but that would require stopping the kiss which seemed like a painstaking decision to make at that moment.

As Albus explored his torso, he felt fingers on one of his nipples, arching into more of those touches. He was surprised that touching there could stimulate such pleasures, but he didn't question it as he wrapped his arms around Albus' waist and ran his hands all over the clothed back.

Their activities continued, and this soon had an effect on his body. The warmth he had felt earlier were now all pooled in the middle of his body. The stirring in his belly soon made something else of his come alive, and he automatically shifted his hips up to meet one of Albus' legs. When he did that, his stomach met a similar happening on Albus, and both of them let out a soft moan of pleasure at the contact.

That also broke their kiss, and the two of them stared at each other with heated expressions.

"That was . . . " Scorpius licked his swollen lips.

"Brilliant. Just absolutely brilliant." Albus gave a soft smile. "But perhaps . . . let's not rush this."

Scorpius agreed. While a large part of him wanted to quickly explore this new territory, his rational side kicked in and told him to take this slow, to savour and pleasure it like he's trying a new dish instead of shoving it into him like a glutton. "Now, let's go to that cinema."

* * *

**Part III**  
_August 1942_

"What are you reading?"

Scorpius looked up and saw Albus coming towards him. Deciding that it was a beautiful summer day, Scorpius decided to spend it by reading some new books under this big tree in the wooded area of the Potters' back lawn.

"I . . . " Scorpius blushed at Albus' question, as he discreetly tried to hide the book. "Nothing. Just some classics."

"What's with that reaction?"

"Er," Scorpius paused, but it was in that moment of hesitancy did Albus manage to take the book out of his hand.

"Hmm." Albus stood up and began to flip through the pages of the book.

"Albus! Give it back!" Scorpius tried to snatch the book, but to no avail.

"What's this? Achilles and Patroclus? A book that explores . . . " Now it was Albus' turn to blush as he skimmed through the words. "Where'd you find this?"

"In . . . Lord Longbottom's estate. He had a bunch of books like these, and he said I could borrow whatever was in his library."

"I . . . see." Albus sat on the ground, his eyes never leaving the book. "This is quite interesting. I mean, we did briefly study about the two when we learned about _The Iliad_, but this looks like it adds a whole new angle to their 'friendship'."

Scorpius bit his lip nervously. "Yes, it examines the possibility that they were more than just war buddies."

"Like Teddy and James," Albus mused as his fingers turned a page and something caught his eyes that caused him to scrunch his face in a look of puzzlement.

Scorpius tilted his head to the side in curiosity. "Al?"

"Hmm?" Albus responded and looked up from the book.

"You looked confused."

"Oh," he sounded in reply and turned back to the page. "This one line, part of it doesn't make sense to me. It's a quote from the original poem."

"Which one is it?" Scorpius asked as he leaned in to look.

Albus gave a look of uncertainty before answering, "It reads, 'You had no consideration for my pure reverence of your thighs, ungrateful after all our frequent kisses.' I get the last part, but I don't understand the 'reverence of your thighs' part."

Scorpius' face flushed for the second time that afternoon. "It . . . " He began hesitantly. "It means . . . Achilles was in . . . admiration . . . of Patroclus' thighs."

"I get that, but why would he mention his admiration for them or even admire them specifically?" Albus asked as Scorpius seemed to fidget next to him. "Scor?"

"Well, in Greece, certain men would . . . " Scorpius trailed off as his face grew redder.

"They would what?" Albus pushed.

"For . . . fornicate . . . with another man . . . between their thighs . . . "

Albus made an 'o' shape with his mouth as the words registered in his mind. He then went on to ask, "Men do that?"

"So it seems," Scorpius replied timidly.

Scorpius watched Albus set the book down. The two of them sat in silence for what seemed like hours but in reality only a few minutes.

"We . . . should we try it? I mean, all we've done so far was kissing . . . "

Scorpius heard the slight catch in Albus' voice, and for some reason that warmed him. Probably because he could tell that Albus was a bit insecure, despite usually having enough confidence for the two of them.

As Scorpius racked his brains for a neutral answer -- he didn't want to sound against it or entirely excited for this new prospect -- Albus spoke again. "Never mind. Bad idea. I don't know what I was thinking."

"Al--"

"I mean, we're no Grecian or Shakespearean actors! We don't need to live out the role of Achilles and Patroclus!"

"Al--"

"Sometimes I wonder why I don't think before I speak. I mean, I'm not as bad as James or anything, but the few times I do forget, I always seem to muck--"

"Albus Severus Potter!" Scorpius achieved something he never thought he'd able to follow. His father had this skill -- apparently he learned it from a former professor or something -- where he was able to hiss out a name, but it actually sounded deadlier and louder than expected. Now, he had done it, and he was giving Albus an exasperated look.

"May I speak?"

Albus bobbed his head up and down.

"In an answer to your suggestion . . . " he paused briefly. "If we ever did take that route, I would not be against it."

Whatever answer Albus expected must not had been what Scorpius just said, if Albus' opened mouth were any indicator.

"However, we will take the necessary precautions -- if there are any."

"Right. Of course. Makes sense."

Scorpius ducked his head to hide a smile. When flustered, Albus really did seem to lose his normal mental capabilities and was only capable of speaking in fragments.

"And, of course, we will not rush this as usual."

"No, of course not. The fact that we've only been kissing for the past year proves how slow we are taking this," Albus responded dryly.

Scorpius was about to point out that it had almost been two years, but quickly decided against it. Albus was obviously displeased with his wanting to take things slow and saying that would probably worsen the situation, whatever it was exactly.

"Sometimes I wonder if you even like me as much as I like you," Albus muttered.

His eyes opened wide in disbelief of the words. "What makes you think that I like you any less?" he asked in heated confusion.

"You always want to take things slow! And your version of slow is just kissing and nothing more. I thought after that one incident last year that maybe, just maybe, we would start venturing further, but no!"

Scorpius defensively narrowed his eyes. "You are the one who said not to rush it."

"I didn't mean not ever doing it again!" Albus roared before taking a deep breath and rubbing his fingers against his temples, as if to cool himself down. "It just seems that I am the only wanting to do more."

"I--" Scorpius began, opening and closing his mouth, trying to figure out what he should say.

"You haven't fought back," Albus continued on, not aware of Scorpius' mental fight for words. "But maybe you . . . I don't know. Maybe you really aren't okay with things, despite what you say."

Scorpius couldn't believe what Albus was saying. What would make him such a thing? He should know better than that! If Scorpius wasn't okay with it, he would have said so.

Before Albus could say more, Scorpius snatched the book from his hands and wacked him with it in a fit of fury. "Ow!" Albus cried. "What was that for?!"

"Because you are an idiot!" Scorpius screamed, his eyes watering a bit. He then calmed down and looked off towards nothing particular. "I--I think I love you."

"Love . . . me?" Albus asked, almost as if the words Scorpius had said were in German and unknown to him.

Scorpius nodded slowly. "Yes. At least, I think so. That is why I want to take things slow."

"I don't understand."

"I have seen what happens to other . . . lovers," Scorpius attempted to explain. "Louis has been with a bunch of girls before, and with each of them, he rushes things and they always separate within a month; same with Hugo, Rose, Victoire, Dominique, Lorcan, Lysander, and everyone else." He bit his lip nervously again before adding, "I don't want to make a wrong turn and lose you."

"You won't lose me," Albus said tenderly as he reached to stroke Scorpius' cheek.

"How do you know?" Scorpius asked desperately. "You may come to your senses and decide that another guy isn't worth your time and fall for a girl. I mean we aren't even supposed to be together. If we ever got caught . . . "

Scorpius heard a sigh from Albus, and next thing he knew, he was being pulled into a warm embrace. He rested his head on Albus' chest, where he could hear and feel the rhythmic beating from his heart. That soothed him as he just stayed like that.

"I . . . I'm sorry. I didn't mean to push you like this. I understand how you feel about not wanting to rush this. You're right. And you're also right about Louis and the others. But I'm not like them. I . . . I cannot see myself with a girl, ever."

"That's what you say now," Scorpius said softly into Albus' chest, "but in the future . . . "

"You know there's a saying in my family -- a saying that states that Potter men are truly loyal. Once they find the love of their life, they stay with that person until the day they die or their spouse die. According to my father, he jokes that an ancestor in the Dark Ages was cursed by a witch who got spurned. Since then, that curse lies in the blood of every Potter men out there."

Another round of silence passed between them until Albus broke it softly with, "And if that curse is true, I think you are the one who was meant to be the love of my life. I love you, too, Scorpius Malfoy."

Scorpius looked up and met Albus' green eyes. In their depths, he saw a combination of sincerity, gentleness, and love. That was enough proof for him. He leaned upwards and kissed Albus deeply. Tired of using words, he decided to convey all his emotions and feelings into actions instead.

* * *

_November 1942_

Scorpius looked at himself in the body-length mirror on a wall of his room. It was All Saints' Day, and due to a party Lord Potter was holding at his home, he was instructed to wear a costume. He was clothed in the attire of a 19th century aristocrat. It had seemed like a good choice at the time, but now he regretted the decision to wear these tight pants. Or maybe they should be called stockings considering how they were practically attached to him like second skin.

"Aren't we looking magnificent?"

He turned towards the doorway and spotted Albus, who had stealthily entered the room unbeknownst to Scorpius. He was wearing a strange costume that made him question his friend's -- or rather lover's -- sanity.

"And you look rather . . . odd," Scorpius replied with a small smile.

Albus chuckled. "What, you don't like my goat legs?"

"Only you would find dressing as Puck a good choice of costume."

"I find that Puck and I are quite alike," Albus replied. "Clever and mischievous."

Scorpius shook his head. "You are more of a trottel."

"A what?"

"It is German for a few things you categorise as," Scorpius began with a smirk. "A dork, an idiot, and a twat."

Albus gave him a mock glare. "I always shower you with compliments and all I get are insults?"

"Yep," he grinned. "It is the only way to deflate that ego of yours."

"Ouch," Albus said as he gripped his chest with false pain. "That hurt."

"It's the truth, though," Scorpius replied with a laugh.

"Now, who's the twat?"

Scorpius stuck his tongue out jokingly before moving towards the bed. He grabbed the mask that went with his costume and placed it on his face. "How do I look?"

"So wonderful that I think that we should skip the party altogether and spend it up here doing something lovers do," Albus answered as he moved his eyebrows in a suggestive manner.

He gave him a stern look. "We are going."

"I don't want to," Albus pouted. "It won't be as much fun."

"Tough luck." Scorpius shrugged before pushing Albus out the door. "We have to, so there is no use complaining."

"Fine," he groaned and walked with him through the hall, downstairs, and into the backyard.

* * *

They walked out into the yard, the sun just about to be fully set. Carved and lit-up pumpkins decorated the area atop of the small fence lines, adding a glowing effect to the assortment of flowers and walkway below them. People were huddled in groups socialising and kids ran around playing various children games.

"Al! Scor!" a strangely dark-cloaked figure with slicked back hair screamed out to them.

It took Scorpius a moment to realise it was Louis and promptly smiled in reply. "Hello."

"What are you supposed to be?" Albus inquired with a scrunched face.

"I should ask you the same. Though, mine should be more recognisable," Louis replied. "I am Dracula by the way. Vampire seducer of women."

"So what you want to be but never will," Albus smirked.

Louis narrowed his eyes. "Oh, shut it."

Albus wore a smug look and Scorpius couldn't help but roll his eyes in reply. The two bantered a bit more, but Scorpius didn't pay any attention. His attention was focused on examining the landscape around him. It wasn't much, he thought, just some social gathering for adults with a few children added in. Yes, the scenery was decorative and probably amazed many of the younger ones, but it didn't make up for the lack of things to do. Though, there were a bunch of kids fascinated with a basin.

"Ah, the old bobbing for apple. You try to catch with just your mouth. After that, it is tradition to peel the apple and drop the peeling into the water. If it spells out a letter, they say it's supposed to represent the name of your true love."

"Really?" Scorpius felt intrigued by it. "Let's try it."

Soon, the two of them and a few others were huddled around the basin, and it wasn't long before Scorpius found his face in the cool water. He moved around, trying to get the apple, and when he felt one bump against him, he quickly grabbed it with his teeth. Hurriedly, he pulled his face out of the water, and he saw that he was the first one to grab it from the group.

As he yanked the apple out of his mouth, Albus said, "You did it! Congratulations!"

Smiling, Scorpius said, "Thanks." Someone handed him a knife, and he slowly started to peel the fruit.

A few minutes later, he dropped his peelings into the water. It slowly formed a letter -- an "A". All Scorpius could do was blink and stare at peelings.

_It has to be a coincidence_, he thought.

Coincidence or not, he felt Albus grabbing his wrist. He stood up and followed Albus to a hidden area of the garden. There, Albus grabbed his hands and squeezed them.

"It spelled an 'A'," Albus said quietly.

Scorpius, still a bit dazed by the peelings, only nodded at Albus' statement.

"It has to be fate."

"Yes."

"I . . . " Albus swallowed, making his Adam's apple bob. "I really do love you, you know."

Scorpius looked into Albus' green eyes and smiled. "And I do, too. I love you as well."

Albus leaned closer, and Scorpius automatically closed his eyes as their lips soon met each other. The kiss evolved into a passionate meeting of mouths, and the two of them were alone in their own world.

Their hands unlinked, and Scorpius' arms wrapped around Albus' back as arms snaked around his hips. The kiss seemed like it would last for eternity until Albus broke it, and Scorpius had to bite back a groan of protest. Before he could question him, he felt the lips that were previously on his pressed against the skin of his jaw and slowly trailed kisses down to his neck.

Albus sucked on the skin lightly, and Scorpius released a moan. He felt Albus' lip quirk up into a smirk against his skin before suddenly lifting his head, causing Scorpius to eye him in curiosity. Albus was wide-eyed, staring off somewhere behind Scorpius, and looked to be in shock. He turned to see what was so dreadful, the answer causing him to gulp in fear of what was about to happened.

"Dad," Albus finally forced out.

Lord Potter, who was dressed in some odd sort of robes and carrying a stick, seemed to be just as off-kilter as the two boys. "Hello . . . boys."

"Good evening, Lord Potter," Scorpius managed to reply.

The boys separated themselves from their hold to stand apart and turned to Lord Potter, doing their best to act as if he had not just caught them in the intimate situation they had just been in.

"So . . . " Albus let out, obviously uncomfortable with the silence that fell upon them all.

Lord Potter cleared his throat and replied simply, "Yes."

"I suppose I should probably explain," Albus said in nervousness.

The older man was quick to shake his head in protest. "No, I need no explaining. I am quite aware what of what just happened."

Both Scorpius and Albus' faces blushed in embarrassment. To say the least, this wasn't exactly a position they wanted to be in and the conversation wasn't exactly pleasant.

"I've already gone through that discussion with Teddy and James and would very much not want to have it again," Lord Potter explained as he rubbed the back of his neck in unease. Scorpius and Albus exchanged a look, both unaware that the man knew of the other two before turning back to him as he let out a small laugh. "I guess this means the Potter line has come to an end."

Scorpius' eyes widened at that sentence. Was Lord Potter joking?

"Dad? There's Lily, you know," Albus said slowly.

"Yes, but she won't be able to carry on the family name now, will she?" Scorpius looked into Lord Potter's green eyes -- the same eyes belonging to his lovers. He saw the same sparks of mischievousness that appeared in Albus' a lot, but at the same time, he saw that they were darker. Almost as if they represented the man's older state.

"Dad . . . "

Lord Potter waved his hand. "All I ever wanted was my children to be happy. If this is what makes you happy, so be it. Just be careful, though. The laws do not look kindly at those who choose this path."

"Yes, Dad."

"You too, Scorpius. I've come to see you as a member of my family, and I do not want you to gain unwanted attention."

"Yes, Lord Potter," Scorpius quickly said.

With that, Lord Potter turned and went back to the party. Once gone, Scorpius leaned back against a tree, all feelings in his legs suddenly disappearing.

"That went better than expected," Albus said with a sigh of relief, taking a seat next to where Scorpius now sat.

"Still embarrassing."

"Of course," Albus replied with a nod. "What else would you expect in that kind of situation? But at least he took it well. I always pictured him having a heart attack when he found out."

Scorpius raised an eyebrow and asked, "You pictured him finding out?"

"Well," he began. "He had to find out eventually. I don't think we could keep it a secret once we turn old and are living together without wives."

"Who says I will want to be with you when you get all wrinkly?" Scorpius teased, trying to hide the flush brought on by the fact that Albus pictured them together in the future.

"You'll be wrinkly by then, too," Albus smirked. "And only me and my old, droopy skin will love you."

"How depressing," he jokingly frowned.

Albus chuckled as he wrapped an arm around Scorpius' shoulder and pulled him closer. "We both know you wouldn't have it any other way. You love me too much."

"I think I'd much rather be like those old bird ladies," Scorpius mused. "I could leave you to live a life on some random steps, have a shawl over my shoulders as I coo and feed birds seeds."

"Now who is being depressing?"

Scorpius merely grinned before pecking the other boy on the lips. When he leaned back, he smiled gently and said, "Honestly, I can't picture my life without you." He then paused and furrowed his brow before adding, "I can't picture myself old and wrinkly either, though, so who knows. Maybe you should find the fountain of youth to be on the safe side."

"You are an adorable git, Scorpius Malfoy."

"And you are a handsome, goat-legged freak, Albus Potter."

The two boys let out a small laugh and kissed once more before getting up and joining the rest of the party, both too afraid to do much more in fear of yet another intruder.

* * *

_May 1943_

"Scorpius?"

"Hmm?" Scorpius had been sitting in front of the lit fireplace, with a blanket covering his lap, in the sitting room. Despite it being May, the weather still felt a bit nippy, at least for him, so he found solace and warmth from his current location.

"What are you doing?"

"Just thinking."

"About what?" Albus sat next to him on the floor, slipping his hand beneath the blanket, holding their hands together, hidden from the world.

"The war."

"Oh?"

"It's almost four years -- four long years of the Allies fighting against the Axis Powers. I wonder how much longer it will continue . . . "

"Well, they are talking about that invasion that's supposed to happen -- don't know when, though."

Nodding, Scorpius closed his eyes. "Yes. And while we are safely tucked away here, thousands out there are fighting for their lives -- both as soldiers and as civilians."

"Well, we are doing our share, though. We go through rationing, we grow our Victory Garden, and we help support the war effort by doing those."

"Yes, but . . . you know what I wish?"

"What?"

Scorpius took a deep breath and opened his eyes before answering. "I wish I could be out there, fighting on the front. And sometimes I wish Mother and Father never sent me here by myself. I think about myself here, and then I think about them still in Germany. If all that rumours about concentration camps are true . . . then maybe it would have been better for all of us to go through it together instead."

Right after he said that, he looked over at Albus, and he was surprised to see such anger etched on his lover's face. Not only on his face, but Albus practically emulated his displeasure all over the room. The warmth that embraced Scorpius moments earlier turned chilly.

"How can you say that?"

"I . . . I think I should have been with them, _should_ be with them," Scorpius attempted to explain, but Albus didn't seem to accept it. "They are my family Albus! We are supposed to go through hardships _together_. I am in this luxurious home, and they could be on the run, in one of the camps, or even lying in a ditch for all I know!"

"So you think it would be better to be suffering, too? To have your parents worry about you every moment and possibly sacrificing their lives to protect you?" Albus fired questions at him, his emerald eyes aflame. "And what about all the people you met here? What about me? Do you wish you never met us?"

"Of course not!" he argued defensively as his hand tightened slightly around Albus'. "I am glad I met all of you, especially you! But those camps are supposed to be terrible, and if they are in them, I can't help but wish I was there to support them!"

"And if you got hurt there or died? They may lose all reason for even putting up an effort to stay alive. At least with you here, they can have some hope that if they survive they will be able to see you again."

"How do I know they will ever get out? If any of this will end?"

"It will! There are people out there fighting, like James and Teddy. They will end this war and you will see your parents again."

"But I could help! If I were to enlist I can help the end come much sooner!"

"You mean your end? You could die out there!"

"I know! But I want to help!" He yelled. He looked away from Albus and stared off before saying softly, "You didn't seem to be this against Teddy or James enlisting . . . "

Albus took a free hand and placed it on the side of Scorpius' face, turning it back towards him. "I am not in love with them," he replied, voice tender but firm. "Not that I don't care about them, but life without you . . . "

"Albus . . . " Scorpius leaned into the soft and loving hands, feeling some of his despair and confusion leaving him. "I just want to fight. I grew up as the spoiled child whose parents gave him everything he wanted. But at the same time, they taught me humility, they taught me to be strong and independent, and their teachings have not left me. I want to do something more than just plant a garden and not eat chocolate."

Scorpius felt himself being pulled into Albus' embrace, and he rested his head against the warm chest. Closing his eyes again, trying to force his sadness away, he breathed in deeply.

"I know. I know you want to do more. I do, too. However, don't enlist now. Don't lie about your age. Don't _leave_ me."

Scorpius nodded and said softly. "Yes. Not yet."

_But soon_, he thought to himself. _One of these days, soon._

* * *

_June 1944_

"Albus! Scorpius!" Lily's excited voice rang out through the huge house. "Come to the sitting room and listen to the radio! The invasion! It began!"

The boys exchanged a look of exhilaration before hurrying to the sitting room where they found the rest of the household listening keenly to the voice of John Snagge over the radio.

"_ . . . Allies began the assault on the north-western face of Hitler's European fortress,_" the voice from the radio spoke as Lord Potter gestured the boys to sit next to Lily on the sofa across from him.

"_First official news came just after half past nine when Supreme Headquarters of the Allied Expeditionary Force, usually called 'Shafe' from its initials, issued Communiqué No. 1. This said, 'Under the command of General Eisenhower, Allied naval forces supported by strong air forces began landing Allied armies this morning on the northern coast of France'._"

This was it, the beginning of the end. The war that had started nearly five years prior was coming to an end and the Potter household couldn't be happier. Teddy and James had been gone for so long and everyone missed them. They even missed Victoire and Dominique who had joined Queen Alexandra's Royal Naval Nursing service a few years back. But what Scorpius was most excited about was that he may be able to see his parents again. No, there wasn't any certainty that he would see them, or that they were even alive, but there was a chance, and the war ending made that chance even more plausible, and that was all he could hope for.

A hand intertwined with Scorpius', and he couldn't help but blush at the intimate touch in the not-so-private room. Albus turned to him with a warm smile, his green eyes shining with joy. He returned it and wondered silently whether the joy was for the end of the war, the return of family, or because it meant Scorpius was less likely to run off and enlist.

It had been over a year since that argument with Albus over enlisting. Scorpius did his best not to mention it, though every time they saw or heard propaganda for the war, he saw a sorrowful, yet angry expression sweep his lover's eyes. It hurt him to see it, but he still couldn't help but feel eager to help out. Even with the war ending, he still felt like he should. He wouldn't tell Albus that, though. He couldn't stand to see the pain that would bring.

"It will all be over soon," Albus whispered, leaning and resting his head on Scorpius'. "Thank God."

* * *

_March 1945_

Still in Albus' embrace, Scorpius lifted his head up. The memories stayed strong in his mind -- even the ones from 1938 still remained sharp in his mind. Things have changed so much over the years. The war changed everything and everyone.

Drawing in a breath, Scorpius looked into Albus' emerald-coloured eyes. "Albus, I have to do this. Please. Let me go enlist."

He felt Albus' fingers digging into his shoulders, but he didn't say anything. He only stared back into Albus' eyes, his own filled with steely determination.

"I have to."

Albus sighed and said, "Fine."

"What?" Scorpius' mouth dropped opened. He had expected more arguing, more pleading -- not a simple acceptance.

"On one condition."

His mouth snapped back shut. He should have known that Albus wasn't going to make this easy. "What's the condition?"

"You wait until we both turn eighteen this year, and we'll join together."

"What?!"

"You heard me just fine."

Scorpius gave Albus his strongest glare. "No. You don't need to do this. You don't need to go."

"Neither do you."

"Albus Severus Potter!" Scorpius had never wanted to slap his lover until now. "Don't take this out of context!"

"What context? We go together, we fight together, and hell, if we have to die, we'll die together!"

"I don't want you to get hurt on my behalf!" Scorpius tried to step out of Albus' embrace, but his lover's hold on him was too strong. "You stay here."

"Just at least wait until December, and we'll enlist then."

"Albus . . . " Scorpius sagged in Albus' arms.

"We'll do this together. Don't sneak off now. We'll wait."

Deciding that his attempt to sneak off was useless for now, he decided to accept his defeat for now. "Fine."

"Now let's go and get some sleep. You exhaust me!"

* * *

**Part IV**  
_April 1945_

"There's a postcard for you," Lord Potter said, coming into the sitting room where Albus, Lily, and Scorpius were studying.

Looking up, Scorpius saw an unreadable look on Lord Potter's face. He stood up and gave Lord Potter a questioning look.

"It's from your father."

Scorpius stood still, unable to think, move, or utter a single syllable. His arm reached out mechanically as Lord Potter handed him the thin card as he kept reminding himself to breathe. This was it, the news he had been hoping to receive for almost five years. It was the one that he had expected to never see; the one he couldn't even believe was in his hand with the familiar, yet more frantically written scrawling of his father's. His hand felt the postcard, just to assure himself that it was real. A wave of emotion hit him, and he let unstoppable tears fall as he began to read it.

_Scorpius,_

_I'm unable to write as much, so I have to be brief. Have to keep this under 100 words. I'm sorry it took so long to write you. I was sent to Auschwitz, but Soviet troops have saved all the prisoners here. I'm sorry to say your mother did not make it, but hopefully I'll be able to reach you soon. I'll not be able to go to you directly, but it shouldn't be much longer until the war is over. I will be free to return to you, my sonnenschein._

_Love your vater,_  
_Draco Malfoy._

More tears formed in his eyes. His father was alive -- well was when he sent the postcard, which was dated January of the year. But his mother, his wonderful and loving mother, was dead. His emotions went back and forth between joy and mourning. He may be able to see his father again, but not his mother.

"Scorpius?" Albus called his name as he sat up and moved towards him.

He looked up to his lover, a bittersweet smile on his lips. "My vater. . . he is free."

Albus' face lit up. "That is great!" He exclaimed and quickly wrapped his arms around Scorpius in a hug.

"Yes," Scorpius replied with a hint of sadness.

"What's wrong? Isn't this good?"

"Mutter . . . died," he forced the words out before more tears made their way down his face.

Albus hugged him tighter and whisper, "I am so sorry."

Scorpius allowed the tears to fall for a few more seconds before he stopped them. He wiped his eyes, and he struggled to smile. "At least he's alive. All these years . . . he survived them."

"That's great!" Lily's bright voice chimed in, and that made Scorpius remember that he and Albus weren't alone at the moment.

Scorpius turned around and blushed as he remembered Lily didn't know anything about Albus and him. He knew that their affectionate display just minutes ago might be perceived otherwise than a friend comforting a friend.

Lily beat him. "I knew. You two have my approval."

"Since when did you get so smart, Lily-kins?" Albus teased, using her hated nickname.

"I'm smarter than all of you boys put together! I might be the youngest, but never underestimate a woman. We do have more intelligence, you know."

Lord Potter chuckled at Lily's loud proclamation. "Yes. Take heart, boys. Never try to argue with a woman. They will always be right. But Scorpius, I am glad your father's alive. When he makes it back to England, he is more than welcome to stay here as long as you two want."

"T-thank you, Lord Potter," Scorpius really was grateful towards this kind and generous man. Really, Scorpius owed Lord Potter a lot.

"Now, I think it's time for supper, and we'll need to celebrate this great news!" Lord Potter went off to find his help to see if they can formulate a more festive meal than their normal rationed cuisine.

* * *

_May 1945_

"The war has ended! The Germans have surrendered!" Lily's loud announcement echoed through the whole manor as Scorpius ran out of his room and ran down to the sitting room where the radio blared the announcement. Even though he knew the day was just around the corner, he hadn't expected it to be today.

His footsteps bounced off the wall, and he soon reached the room, looking as if he had run a marathon instead of just down the stairs.

"Is it true? They surrendered?" Albus demanded, running into the room as well.

Lord Potter nodded. "They have."

"It's over!" Albus exclaimed, as he turned to Scorpius in excitement.

He saw the older man shake his head then, and Scorpius understood why. "Only the Germans have surrendered," Lord Potter began, "But the other Axis powers are still there. They are greatly weakened, though, without one of their leading forces."

"This means that it is almost over then, right?" Scorpius asked hopefully.

"Yes," he replied. "And the German surrender also makes it easier for survivors of Nazi imprisonment to go to friendlier territory, and it also means that some soldiers will be able to return home."

"Like Teddy and James?" Lily questioned, her eyes large and hopeful.

"Possibly. Though don't expect them to just show up right away. If they do return, it may take a little while before they get home."

Scorpius smiled. The war wasn't exactly over, but what he was concerned most about was. That meant they might see Teddy and James again for the first time since that December that seemed forever ago, but importantly it meant a reunion with his father was closer. True, he didn't know what happened to his father between January and the German surrender, but he was sure his father was still alive and that they would see each other again.

As he stood there imagining all the good that would come, Albus moved closer to him and wrapped his arms around him in a hug before whispering, "Finally."

"Eww, they are getting all cuddly," Lily joked.

"Oh, hush," Albus laughed as he pulled from the hold and moved to her to put his hand on her head and mess up her hair.

Lord Potter laughed heartily at the exchange, as did Scorpius, before relaxing in his armchair next to the radio and saying, "You kids go out and play now. I am going to finish listening."

* * *

_June 1945_

Slowly, trickle by trickle, Britian's troops came back to the isle. Men and women, who had survived the horrendous war that raged around the continent, returned different. As ones who experienced and saw horrors and nightmares, it was only natural for some to look at life differently.

Luckily, when James and Teddy came back towards the middle of June, almost a month since the Germans admitted defeat, they weren't one of them. In fact, they were both excited to be back home.

However, when one of the more inquisitive bunches asked them about what they saw during the wartime, both declined to answer. James' face had a frown, a deep frown etched between his brows. Teddy didn't scowl or anything similar like his lover, but he became quieter and refused to talk about what was asked.

Despite their refusals, they quite happily spent times with their families and friends. After lounging around the manor for a week or so, they decided to pick up what they left behind: they were to follow Lord Potter's footsteps and would work under him.

The two older ones worked, and the younger ones continued their schooling. For Scorpius and Albus, this was their last term, so they had plenty of examinations to prepare for towards the end of July. During one of these study sessions, Scorpius would look up from his piles of books and stare out the window in his room. He looked at the blue sky, the fluffy clouds that slowly drifted by, and he wondered when he would hear from his father.

As the days went by, Scorpius became more and more apprehensive. He worried about his father's current condition and location. He anticipated his father's arrival any day now, yet he dreaded to meet his father.

So much time had passed, and he wasn't sure if he'd meet the same man he left behind all those years ago. Also, there was the crucial matter of his father accepting his lover, one who wasn't the fairer sex. How would his father react to his only son being of that inclination?

Hesitantly, Scorpius voiced his concerns to Albus, and he even told how he dreaded meeting his father again.

And Albus responded in a more positive manner than expected. "I can see why you'd feel that way. I'm sure I would, too, if I had been separated from my family this long. Don't worry too much, though. I'm sure after he gets over his initial shock, he'll still love you and accept you."

Scorpius wanted to say "thank you" to his friend and his lover, but the words wouldn't come out. Instead, he wrapped his arms around Albus' shoulders and turned his face towards Albus' to kiss him. When their lips met, he tried, with his all best, to transmit the unspoken gratitude and love he felt for the other boy.

* * *

_July 1945_

Scorpius stood still in between Lily and Albus, at least he tried to. It was hard standing still with all the nervousness and excitement swirling around inside of him. A few days prior, Lord Potter had received word that Draco Malfoy, Scorpius' father, had arrived in Ramsgate. After careful planning, arrangements for his father to arrive at the Potter manor were all set. Scorpius' mood swung back and forth between ecstatic and anxious. He hadn't seen his father in so long and worried that things wouldn't be the same as before between them, especially after a few new goings-on were told.

It was a Saturday afternoon when the day of his arrival had finally come. Scorpius continuously picked at his clothing and hair to make sure they were perfect throughout the day, which Albus would respond to by saying everything will be fine and not to worry so much. He tried to listen to his lover, but the worry stayed bubbling underneath. To try and distract his thoughts, he brushed up on his German with Albus and Lord Potter. He hadn't used it in a while and wanted to make sure he didn't seem too different than the boy who had left on the train all those years ago.

"There's the car!" Lily exclaimed and pointed.

Scorpius eyes followed her finger, his heart pounding faster once they found it. He bit his lip nervously as he shot an apprehensive look towards Albus, who replied with a reassuring smile. He began turning to look back at the approaching vehicle when his eyes caught glance of Lord Potter. The man stood tall and proud in the line of members of the household, much like he did when Scorpius had arrived seven years before. He hated him then and the rest of the family, but he had quickly changed his mind. Now he felt like one of them, one of the family members.

He returned his gaze to his front, watching as the black car that held his father approached. Just the idea that his father was so close after so long was enough to cause Scorpius' eyes to water. He couldn't believe that he would soon see his father, that they were even in the same place. When he heard the brakes, it took every bit of control he had to keep standing where he was.

Time seemed to slow and stretch out as Scorpius watched the door open. Once open, a clean, obviously newly bought, shoe stepped outside the vehicle followed by the body of a man. He looked aged and worn, and for a moment Scorpius wondered who he was before the man lifted his head and the realisation hit him. This beat-up looking man was his father. Though not as well-kept and prideful as he last saw him, it was surely him.

"Vater!" he exclaimed and instinctively ran to him.

"Scorpius? Scorpius! Mein Sohn! Ich kann nicht glauben, dass es Sie, mein süßes Kind ist!" he shouted.

Tears fell down both their faces as their arms wrapped around each other in a long anticipated embrace. "Ich habe Sie verfehlt," Scorpius spoke between sobs, telling his father he missed him.

"Ich verfehlte Sie auch," his father replied through tears of his own.

Scorpius hugged his father tighter, and with his arms around his father's upper-body, he felt just how thin the man had become, no doubt from the concentration camps. News of the horrible treatments at the death camps came through the reel, newspapers, and magazine articles. They shocked him, and while he realised his father went through this, to meet an actual death camp survivor left him feeling surreal.

Finally the two separated, and Scorpius turned to look at the others who had watched their reunion. He gently guided his father towards Lord Potter. Before he could say anything, though, Draco spoke up first.

"I . . . thank you, Lord Potter. Thank you for caring my son all these years." Even though it had been years since he heard his father's voice, he heard something he had never heard in them before. His father sounded defeated and exhausted, almost as if he had come back to him just to thank the man who had took him in.

Lord Potter must had felt the same thing since he stepped up and grabbed Draco by the shoulders. "Please. No need to thank me. I did what any decent citizen would have done."

Scorpius saw his father's shoulders slumping down in Lord Potter's stronger and healthier looking hands. "But I still thank you."

"Come. Enough of this. I'm sure this journey had exhausted you. A room has been prepared for you. Let us go."

"Ja . . . thank you."

As much as Scorpius wanted to go with his father to the room, he decided he needed some time to collect his thoughts and to let his father rest. When Lord Potter took his father inside, Scorpius grabbed Albus' hand and tugged him towards a private place.

Wordlessly, Albus followed, and it wasn't long until they reached their special little place in the wooded area behind the manor. They came upon the large oak tree that they liked to sit under -- the same tree they were under when they discussed Achilles and Patroclus years before -- and Scorpius sat on the ground first. Albus joined him, and when he felt his lover's warm body, he went straight into Albus' embrace and sought out solace and comfort. The reunion with his father sapped more of his energy than expected.

"He's finally here . . . " He heard Albus say softly.

"Yes. After all these years . . . " Scorpius sighed. "He's like James and Teddy except worse, I think. What sufferings he must have gone through . . . he's so unlike the proud and haughty man I left behind."

"I'm sure he will get better with time," Albus replied, running a hand through Scorpius' hair. "He probably won't be exactly the same, but now that he is here with you and has less to worry about he will certainly get better."

"I hope so; I hate seeing him like this," Scorpius said before letting out a long sigh. "I knew that he was going through horrible treatment, but I never realised how badly it would affect him. As a kid, I always saw him as this strong, undefeatable force. Now, he seems broken."

"He isn't broken," Albus reassured him. "He may have been worn down, but he is obviously strong or else he wouldn't have made it this far. Having to hand over his son to strangers, being held in one of those camps, and losing his wife, your father must have been strong to not give up with all that."

Scorpius gave his lover a warm smile before replying, "Thank you."

Albus returned the smile and Scorpius closed his eyes to rest. As he did so, he thought about how lucky he was to have been sent to the Potter home. He had heard of other children being sent to horrible homes where they worked almost like servants, but Scorpius had a complete opposite experience. He was welcomed into the household with loving arms, found himself a second family, and encountered the love of his life. All the worrying through the years seemed worth it just to have met Albus who he now couldn't imagine his life without.

"I love you," he heard Albus whisper as a hand caressed his face gently.

Scorpius leaned into the touch and answered back, "I love you too.

* * *

He awoke to the sound of Lily's voice calling out, "Albus! Scorpius! Dinner!"

Scorpius let out a yawn as he stretched his shoulders and opened his eyes. "Hey there, Sleeping Beauty," Albus said, his arms still around him.

"How long was I sleeping for?" he asked curiously, not remembering when he had fallen asleep.

Albus shrugged, "An hour or two."

"I'm sorry I fell asleep on you."

"Don't worry," Albus smiled. "You were worn out from everything; it is understandable."

Scorpius yawned again, and he stood up, reaching a hand out for Albus to grab. Hand in hands, they headed into the manor. When they reached the dining room, Scorpius, still holding onto Albus' hand, forgot a tiny crucial detail. His father was in the dining room, and his father had no idea of his son's choice of lover.

Scorpius stopped abruptly, quickly let go of Albus' hand, and stared at his father's unreadable facial expression.

There was a long moment of silence as all the occupants in the room held their breath to see how the elder Malfoy would react to the younger Malfoy's preference. Scorpius saw Lily's small, pale hands wringing with worry. Teddy and James shared a knowing look. Lord Potter had an unreadable expression as well, just like his father's. The only face he couldn't see was Albus', who stood behind him, a good thing, too, since if Albus wasn't there, Scorpius would have surely bolted from this unplanned and dangerous situation.

In a forced voice, Scorpius said, "Father . . . "

Draco interrupted him. "So this is the end of the Malfoy line, at least in a biological sense."

"What?" Scorpius gaped, unattractively, at his father. He was sure that if his eyes weren't attached by those muscles, they would have fallen out and landed with a splat from his shock.

"Close your mouth, Scorpius."

He automatically obeyed his father's order.

"Now come sit down. We'll talk about this later. And just to ease you a bit, I am not angry at you."

Albus' hand rested against the small of his back, and that gave Scorpius back some of his courage and calmness. Relieved to hear that his father wasn't angry, he and Albus sat down, and dinner proceeded as if the last few minutes had never happened.

* * *

After dinner, Scorpius was in the sitting room, alone with his father. Scorpius had his usual cup of tea. His father opted for a cup of coffee. The two sipped at their drinks in silence until Draco broke it.

"One materialistic thing I've missed was coffee. You know your mother and I loved it."

"Yes, I remember," Scorpius stared at the milky brown liquid in his own cup.

"When I sent you away, I did it to protect you, did it to at least save you from the horrors that came to Germany."

"I know," he nodded and took another sip.

"I just wanted you to know that, though, I didn't want to have you separated from us, your mother and I did it because it was the best option."

Scorpius nodded again, "I understand. I was sad to be away from both of you and always wished we could have stayed together, but I have learned that it was the only option."

"I am glad you understand," his father replied simply before drinking more of his coffee.

Scorpius looked up at the man as they sat in silence. Whatever sleep his father had received managed to get rid of the tired and lazy posture of before. He sat upright with shoulders back, the same way Scorpius remembered from childhood. The rest hadn't fixed the signs of age or evidence of what he'd gone through. The wrinkles, the scars, and the receding hairline his father probably preferred never to be brought up were still there and would be for the rest of his life. He couldn't help but wonder if he would ever get used to these new features on his father.

"Every night I would wish I had never sent you away so I could have you with me," his father spoke again, breaking the silence. His face shifted to a look of sadness and gloom as he continued. "I knew that what I did was right, but that never stopped me from missing you; the same with your mother. I didn't really get to see her much after we were segregated in the camps, but I know she missed you just the same."

Shocked wasn't the word for how Scorpius felt listening to his father's words. Yes, he knew they must have missed him because he missed them too, but to hear his father speak about anything involving what happened was amazing. Teddy and James avoided war talk like the plague, but here his father was even talking a bit about the camps, which Scorpius thought of as a million times worse.

"Does it really surprise you that we missed you?" his father asked in disbelief with a tone of being offended, obviously noticing his expression on his son's face. "I know we were strict, but we always showed that we loved you."

"I--" Scorpius began as he shook his head frantically, caught off guard by his father's accusations. "I know that. I was just shocked that you were talking about _that_. Most people get all tense and silent."

"Ah," he nodded grimly, in understanding. "Most do and I completely comprehend why. For a while I tried to forget it all, but realised I never would and that when -- _if_ -- I ever saw you again that I'd have to talk at least a bit about it. I can't promise to say everything now or ever, but if you ever want to know something, I will try to tell you what I can."

Scorpius sat there in silence again. He wondered if he ever would want to know something about his father's experience bad enough to force him to remember something terrible. It didn't take long for him to come with an answer; the one he knew would probably be the hardest one to ask and have answered. A frown crossed his face in thought of it.

"You have a question, don't you?" his father asked. Scorpius bit his lip nervously, wondering if he even dare ask. The older man let out a sigh, as if realising the question. "You want to know about what happened to her, I assume?"

He reluctantly nodded before adding, "But I can wait if you don't want to tell me right now."

Scorpius watched as his father sighed heavily before he continued. "I haven't received the full details of your mother passing -- simply because there weren't any written documentations. But from what I heard from the survivors in the women's camp, she did fight to survive. Luckily, she never was chosen as one of the ones who had to perish in the chambers. Then again, that's your mother. She may look frail, but she still managed to look sturdy and determined, and she somehow must have managed that when she was in Auschwitz.

"However, towards the end, around the end of December, she was diagnosed with typhoid. Without the proper nutrients and medical care, it wasn't long until she succumbed to that disease. According to one woman, she told me that Astoria passed away on January 2, 1945. That's all I know, all I've been told."

By the time Draco finished the story, Scorpius' eyes grew wet. As he tried to blink the tears away, he said, "At least she didn't . . . " He wanted to say it was good that his mother didn't die in that horrible gas chamber, but the words wouldn't come out.

"Yes. At least she didn't go in the chambers."

Scorpius could only nod, his throat too tight with grief and sadness.

"Cry, my son. Don't keep it in. It's not worth it. I have taught you that we Malfoys do not show any weakness, but sometimes you just need to let it out."

That did it. That broke Scorpius' barriers, and he found himself weeping for his mother he will never get to see again, in his father's thin and frail arm, yet they were still strong and protective.

When Scorpius finished, he sat back and tried to regain his composure. "Thank you for telling me, Father."

"You deserve to know." Right then, a wry and knowing smile came onto his father's face. "Much like I deserve to know who my son is -- for the better lack of word -- courting."

This time Scorpius face turned pink from embarrassment. "I . . . I didn't want you to find out this way, Father. I didn't mean for you to find out so soon."

"Well, I know now."

Swallowing hard, Scorpius cautiously asked the next question. "Do . . . do you disapprove?"

"What would you do if I did disapprove of this predicament?"

"Well . . . " Scorpius was taken aback by that response. "I would not be able to give him up, Father."

A soft look came onto his father's face. "Scorpius. You left as a child, and now you've returned back to me as an adult. You're your own man, now. While I always had hoped to see you settling down with a nice lady, I can accept who you choose to be with. Besides, this war, this persecution against us Jews and other groups the Nazis found lesser to their superior Aryan races, it taught me just how dangerous it is to be prejudiced to anybody."

"Father . . . " Scorpius studied his father once again. In front of him sat a man who not only survived the worse horrors any human can go through, but a man who became much wiser, the kind of wisdom only one can gain from such an experience.

"You have my approval, Scorpius. I don't know anything about that young Albus Severus, but if he's anything like his father . . . I trust and respect your choices."

"Thank you, Father," Scorpius smiled softly.

"Just don't let me see you flaunting it about," Draco continued sternly. "I know how the law regards these sort of things, and I do not want you or him sent to prison for it." He then scrunched his nose up in distaste before adding, "Nor do I really care to see it. I don't mind the holding of hands, but I don't want to _see_ anything else. You understand?" He asked the last part with firm eyes towards his son.

Scorpius nodded quickly, feeling that wouldn't be an issue given he didn't really want to be seen with Albus kissing, or anything more, by his father.

"Good," he spoke and gave a nod of his head in satisfaction. "Now that that has been cleared up, I think I shall be heading off to bed. Even this coffee doesn't seem to ease my exhaustion."

"Good night, Father," Scorpius replied, nostalgia hitting him with the long-since-spoken words.

His father smiled as he answered back, "Good night, Scorpius."

Scorpius gave his father one last look before leaving. As he walked up the stairs, he couldn't believe how things had turned out just now. His father easily accepting his alternate lifestyle was not exactly how he envisioned. Still, though, he did feel glad it ended up like this. He'd hate to see his father all disappointed and disgusted towards him.

He soon entered his room, and he saw Albus on his bed, reading a book. He watched his lover set the book down, a worried look on Albus' pale face. "How did it go?"

"Fine." Scorpius smiled and joined him on the bed. "He just doesn't want to see me doing anything with you, but he accepted it."

He felt Albus breathed out in relief. "I'm glad."

"And he told me how my mother passed." In a soft voice, Scorpius retold what he had heard from his father earlier, and when he finished, he found himself in Albus' embrace, and he rested his head against his lover's shoulder.

"I'm sorry she didn't make it, but I'm glad your father did. At least you have him now." Scorpius heard the slight pause. "And you have me, of course!"

Making a face, Scorpius looked into Albus' green eyes, finding them twinkling with mischief. "Oh, you . . . " Without any warning, Scorpius grabbed a pillow and pelted it in Albus' face.

Laughing, getting rid of the tension and the moment of grief, the two started a healthy pillow fight as they both tried to stifle any loud noises that would bring unwanted guests into their sanctuary.

* * *

**Epilogue**  
_May 1950_

"All right there, Lily?"

James' loud voice rang so loudly to the point that the people on the other side of the ship heard him.

"Hush, James."

Scorpius walked over to where Lily sat, looking miserable from her seasickness. He wrapped an arm around the young girl, no _lady_, who had been his surrogate little sister for years now. "We'll be there soon, Lils."

"I hate this ship."

"And just think, Lily-kins, we'll be going back to England like this in a couple of weeks."

"Shut it, James Sirius Potter! Wait until we get on solid land!"

Laughing, James grabbed Teddy's arms, making their escape to the restaurant.

Scorpius grinned and shook his head as he looked around the deck of the ship, watching the people come and go. He let his thoughts wander as he breathed in the sea air and felt the nice cool breeze around him. More than a decade had passed since he had left Germany and came to England. Just like his journey all those years ago, he was now on a new adventure. Only, this was more pleasant. He and his family were on their way to visit the new country of Israel.

"I wish that Arab-Israeli war hadn't delayed the trip two years ago," Lily spoke again, disrupting him from his thoughts.

Scorpius scrunched his forehead in confusion. "Why?"

She shot daggers into the air as she held her upset stomach. "Because then I could have used school as an excuse to not go and thus not feel so terrible."

Scorpius rubbed her arm to comfort her, "Don't worry. It will all be better in a bit, and all the excitement of the trip will take over." He then looked at Albus who was standing nearby and asked, "How much longer until we get there?"

"About a half hour," Albus turned and replied.

Lily groaned, "I want to be there now!"

"That excited, are we?" He let out a laugh, earning himself a glare from his sister.

"I just want land," she whined. "I think at this point I will be so thankful that I would marry it."

"I know you are of age and all," Scorpius began. "But I don't think your dad would be all too keen on the idea of you marrying the land of Israel."

"I don't know," Albus intervened. "Being the bride of the country would be quite profitable. Then she could give us some land, maybe bribe people into letting us do whatever, and we could live some pretty comfortable lives."

She giggled at that, though her face soon turned into a smirk as she replied, "Well, I might give the family land, but if I do there will be a none-for-Albus rule instated."

"I like that rule," Scorpius snickered.

"So mean," Albus jokingly pouted. "Guess I will just have to go off and marry my own country. Maybe America. Then I shall have my wife-country beat up Israel and take over all of you."

Scorpius couldn't help but laugh at his lover's statement. He was about to make a remark, but his father and Lord Potter approached, the latter eyeing his son questioningly as he spoke up. "Do I want to know?"

"They plan to marry countries," Scorpius answered simply with a small chortle.

The man blinked a few times before shaking his head, knowing he probably shouldn't ask for further explanation. "Anyway," he started again. "We will be arriving soon, so go make sure all your things are together."

"Lily, are you all right?" Draco interjected, eyeing the young women in concern.

She smiled grimly and responded, "Seasick."

"I'm sorry to hear that Lily," Lord Potter replied. "You boys go now, while Draco and I will take her to get something to ease her stomach a bit."

"Oh, please! Don't even mention the word 'food'!" Lily begged, her face turning green as the ship chose at that moment to rock a bit harder than necessary.

After making sure Lily wasn't going to faint from her ailment, Albus and Scorpius walked off towards their room. Once out of earshot, Albus started laughing.

"I don't think it's nice to laugh at your sister's condition," Scorpius admonished.

"You're right, but her antics were humorous!"

Inside their room, Scorpius shook his head as he took a seat on the large bed, easily able to accommodate two grown men. "Yes, she does have the flair for dramatics."

"Absolutely. Hence why she'd be a great actress -- if she can ever memorise her lines." Albus sat next to him and entwined their hands together. "Are you excited that we're almost there?"

"Hmmm?" Scorpius looked sideways at Albus and smiled. "It is always exciting to visit a new country, especially with the people I love."

"Would you ever want to move to Israel permanently?"

"No, I don't. England's my home now. And while I do believe in some of the Zionist's beliefs on how the Jews needed a homeland . . . it's not for me."

"Yeah, I would miss jolly old England if I had to move to Israel with you. Or anywhere else in the world," Albus said gently, leaning over to peck Scorpius' cheek. "Though, I do want to travel more with you."

"We could go to United States next. I hear San Francisco would be lovely. I think I heard words about that city becoming the next west coast Harlem, heard all sorts of writers and artists trickling in there." Many years ago, Scorpius had fallen in love with English poetry. Along with the poems, he also discovered he enjoyed reading prose from the modern writers of 1910s and 1920s, and this allowed him to explore literature with unrelenting passion. He also tried to write his own prose, and currently he only shared them with Albus.

"Hmmm. Not a bad idea. You can pursue your strange writing ideas, and I could look into starting an interior designing business there."

Scorpius poked Albus in the side and pretended to scowl angrily. "My writings are not weird."

"Oh, spare me. Your writings are just like James Joyce's! All that stream-of-consciousness stuff? I think F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway are more my style."

"That's because you don't have the brain to comprehend such beautiful and complex works Joyce is known for," Scorpius delivered seriously. "Hemingway uses simple, declarative sentences, same as Fitzgerald, though he focused more on symbolism, I think. Joyce is a whole different level from those two."

"You know, instead of writing, you should just teach literature and poetry."

"Maybe," Scorpius grinned. "If I get my own classroom, you can decorate it."

"Then may I decorate it with elaborate phallic symbols here and there?"

A long silence passed between them as Scorpius finally said, "No."

"Aw, come on."

"_No_, Albus. Decorate your own office like that, not mine!"

"Tsk. You're no fun."

"Your definition of fun is quite questionable."

"Hush." Albus slung an arm around Scorpius, and Scorpius automatically leaned into the warmth. "I have to say, walking into our fathers was quite interesting."

"Albus!" Scorpius closed his eyes, trying to erase the image that came uninvited in his head.

"What? Are you that traumatised by seeing your father and mine in that predicament in the manor's library?"

Scorpius grimaced at the memory, "That was extremely scarring."

"You didn't seem this disturbed when we caught Teddy and James," Albus noted amusedly.

"True, but this time was different. First of all, it was our fathers. Second, I personally found our fathers together a bit more shocking. And third, that was _way_ more than I ever wanted to see my father doing with anyone -- man, woman, or whomever. And you have to admit it was a lot more traumatising."

It was Albus' turn to scrunch his face at the thought. "It really was terrifying to see that," he answered. He then grinned and added, "But the facial expressions when they saw us catch them were priceless."

"Mine probably wasn't much better," Scorpius muttered glumly.

"It was perfect," Albus snickered. "Jaw to the floor and eyes as big as plates."

"I'm glad my horror bemuses you," He glared at his lover.

Albus lifted an eyebrow in question, "Are you going to lecture me on laughing at other people's pain? After all the laughing you had at my expense when that sinister woman tried molesting me earlier today?"

Scorpius let out a burst of laughter, "That was so great! You look so mortified when she was hanging on your shoulder and asking if you wanted to go to her room."

"And you got onto me about laughing at your pain," Albus commented and shook his head.

Scorpius let out an amused snort before giving Albus a sweet smile, "You know I still love you."

"You better," Albus smiled and kissed Scorpius on the lips. A horn signalling the ships arrival then sounded and he let out a deep sigh. "I guess we should grab our bags and go now."

The two then stood up and gathered their things before leaving their room and heading to the deck. They eventually found their fathers through the crowd with Lily, who seemed to be jumping up in down in excitement.

"Almost there, almost there, almost there," she chanted eagerly.

Scorpius saw Teddy and James make their way through the mass of people, the dark-haired one laughing at his sister as he said, "That isn't going to make things go any faster."

"I don't care," she replied, as she stopped hopping. "I am just excited that I will soon be off this bloody ship."

"Just wait till you get to go on it again!" James joked with enthusiasm.

She narrowed her eyes, "As if. I plan to fly back."

"You think Dad is going to pay for you to be flown back?"

"I _will_ find a way back that doesn't involve going on a ship again," she answered determinedly.

"You could always walk back. By the time you arrive in England, you'll look like an old hag!" James winked at her.

Scorpius looked to Albus then and asked, "Do you think the two of them will ever be able to go ten minutes around each other without bantering?"

Albus thought for a moment and replied, "Probably not."

The two shared a small laugh before Lord Potter and Draco ordered them to get moving. With Teddy, James, and Lily in front of them, and their fathers following in the back, they safely held each other's hands, out of witnesses' sights, as they began to leave the ship to step onto the land of the new country Israel. As they walked, Scorpius couldn't help but think how perfect all of this was. He had a loving family and someone to be by his side forever. Their future awaited them, and Scorpius knew that no matter what other hardships they faced, all would be well.

Words: 25,807

Completed August 25, 2009


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